Dear Friends,

Welcome to February, the shortest month of the year but one the Hallmark greeting card company has deemed “The Love Month.”  Now, please do not get me wrong, I am in favor of celebrating love, as love is the most powerful thing in this world, but I do not believe that love should be hemmed into a one-day celebration filled with jewelry, stuffed animals, and boxes of chocolates, though these items are a great way to remind the person you love how much they mean to you.

Love is a conscious effort to daily show compassion, mercy, and adoration to those you are fortunate enough to share life with.  Love is far greater than an emotion – far greater than a mere feeling.  As believers in Jesus Christ, our brand standard of radical love is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

The story of Jesus is the world’s greatest love story, and you and I are the object of His affection.  In John 15:9 (NIV), Jesus tells us, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”  The writers at Hallmark could spend their entire lives coming up with the best poems to place inside of a Valentine’s Day card and NEVER would they come close to the expression of love spoken by Jesus.  This Valentine’s Day and for all of 2022, I urge you to give the perfect gift of love to the Lord … YOU!

With love,