Ah, February.  The month that I equate with freezing temperatures and Valentine’s Day – neither of which I’m a fan of.  February is not my favorite month. 

However, my five-year-old daughter loves Valentine’s Day.  (I think she just loves an excuse to have a party!)  Having her enthusiasm in February has given me pause in my distaste.

Those that aren’t like me love to celebrate those they love, typically a significant other.  I’m going to take this moment to consider a different type of love.

I’m talking about the love of God.  The God who has been around since before the creation of time.  The God who wanted relationships and so created humans.  The God who didn’t completely wipe out humanity when we turned on Him and sinned.  The God who then sent His Son to die for our sons.
Why did Jesus have to die?

When God created Adam and Eve, He created them perfectly.  There was no sin, no pain, no death.  When Eve took a bite from the one tree God told them not to eat then gave the fruit to Adam and he ate, sin came into the world.

With the introduction of sin came all the consequences of sin: pain, death, separation from God.  God is so holy, He cannot associate with sin (Isaiah 59:2; Colossians 1:21).

In order to bring back life and repair the relationship that was broken, something had to die.  In the Old Testament, there are lists of rules that had to be followed for a sacrifice in order for someone to be forgiven from sin.

God is not a God of rules.  He didn’t want us to have to have a checklist in order to have a relationship with Him.  He wanted us to have easy access to Him. 

So He sent the ultimate sacrifice for us.  He sent His Son, Jesus.

The death of Jesus was the final sacrifice.  Through His death, we can have a relationship with God on earth.  Through the death of Jesus, we can have eternal life in Heaven with God.

Now this is a Valentine’s Day celebration I can get behind!

On a side note, I have nothing against other people celebrating Valentine’s Day.  (Fortunately, my husband feels the same as me!)  So tell me, what are you doing for Valentine’s Day?