Suppose there was no Valentine’s Day.

Would we understand the concept of love without a Hallmark holiday of candy hearts and flower scented homes? Love would still penetrate through weddings and births, but would one less day of loving one another create a vacuum into an abyss of loveless-ness or stale feelings in the card aisle?

Think back, way back, to when the concept of love was created. When was love first a thought, an action, a feeling of eternal security and embrace?

Time to get back to the basics, and a refreshing simple reminder of why we love.

God created- our strong Creator God- from love. He made a world to glorify Himself and to display His majesty. His greatness was shown through His perfect creation.

God’s perfect love was culminated in His very best and most favorite creation whom He stood over and declared that is was “very good.”

In His image, the Lord molded and breathed life into man, an image of Himself. His fullness was given to us so that we could be His forever companion, and we could declare Him Lord and best friend.

And that was what we were and what we did, we lived in perfect communion with our creator, until we didn’t. We failed Him, disobedience won and we fell out of the garden. Sin followed.

When you are perfect, you are forever. There is no sickness, hurt or death. However, no one is perfect aside from God. Not since the fruit hit Eve’s lips. Imperfection leads to sin and sin leads to death.

There is good news that wins out over all of this and conquers death.

Romans 5:8 NIV

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Love didn’t just stay in a garden and remain untouchable. A true a sacrificial love came down to earth and dwelt with us that seemed unfathomable and remarkable.

When we feel stuck in hopelessness, anger and frustrations, that’s sin- ours, others, society, but we don’t have to live like there’s no hope or joy. People suffer because we have allowed ourselves to fall so far.

1 John 4:7-8

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

These things seem far gone but they are not. Joy, peace, and hope are all attainable despite circumstance and our failings. The sacrifice that Jesus fulfilled in our place gives us a chance at life in Him. We can put our hope in the price He paid so that we may have an eternity with Him. We can have peace in knowing that we will be perfect some day.

And to sum up the Gospel in one verse that we have hidden in our hearts from the time that we came to light in Christ, let us remember the words of the Apostle John.

John 3:16 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

This post comes from the 20 Days of Devotionals series.