“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:13
As long as humanity has enjoyed the luxury of artistic expression, the theme of love has dominated the landscape of our collective artistic focus.
Statistics today, confirm our obsession with love, with ‘romance’ being the highest-grossing fiction genre in the literary world, generating over a billion USD annually and sometimes outselling all other genres combined.
The power of the ‘love story’ lies in its universal human connection and a foundational promise to the reader: that no matter what conflict arises, love will prevail and lead to an emotionally satisfying end. In film and art alike, the centrality of love serves as a vital emotional anchor to the content, even when it is not the primary focus. While the ‘pure’ romantic drama has seen decline in the film industry, the ‘romantic subplot’ remains irreplacable, serving as the narrative heart of everything from docu-dramas to action, fantasy and sci-fi epics.
Love’s legacy continues today, even in the digital art and media world, where it offsets the fatigue often expereinced with over consumption of CG content. Whether on paper, screen or on canvas, the ‘love story’ remains the primary vehicle through which we explore the depths of human relationships and the embodiment of our hope for a “happily ever after”ending.
Our celebration of Valentine’s Day this month is another example of our hunger for love. History tells us that Valentine was a priest recognized for Sainthood by the Christian church in 496 A.D., some 200 years after his martyrdom in Rome on February 14th, around the year 270. Tradition states that Emperor Claudius II had Valentine executed for trying to convert him to faith in Christ.
So, what does this guy Valentine have to do with our modern-day fascination with romance? Well, according to one historical account, the last thing Valentine did before his execution was declare his love to a young woman, by written letter, whereby he signed it, ‘from your Valentine’, thus giving birth to the same tradition.
Between his life of Christian ministry and his dramatic ‘dying breath’ expression of love and devotion, Valentine was eventually recognized as the patron Saint of romance and love.
From there it was simply a matter of time before it became what it is today; the West’s third most popular holiday after New Year’s and Christmas. Billions and billions of dollars are spent worldwide every year on Valentine’s Day. If the saying ‘numbers don’t lie’ applies here, then our combined spending globally for Valentine’s Day is yet another evidence to just how important love is to us.
Humanity’s longing for love is so intrinsic to who we are that it’s no exaggeration to say we were created for it. And that is one of the most foundational truths taught in the Bible.
The Bible states simply and emphatically, ‘God is love’.
We see in Scripture that God has revealed different facets of His character in different ways. In creation we see His wisdom, intelligence, order and creative power. The human conscience reveals to us God’s moral compass, hard-wired into our hearts. And through the Scriptures we learn of the many other unparalleled perfections unique and distinct to God’s nature and being.
But when it came to truly and fully expressing the nature of His love, it wasn’t enough for God to say He loves us in words alone. The Bible says He vividly shows it to us through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
One of the most famous passages of the New Testament summarizes it this way, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
The Bible teaches us that in a single staggering expression of love, God forever settled the question of our value to Him and His love for us. As it says in Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The cross where Jesus Christ died is the ultimate expression of God’s love for you. There He showed us that He was willing to bridge a divide no human possible could, to reconcile us to Himself. Christianity is not supposed to be some burdensome adherence to a rigid religious system, but the response of our heart to a Holy God who has expressed His love in radical, matchless terms; an aspect of God’s heart toward you and I that no other religious system can offer.
Jesus set the standard for sacrificial, selfless love when he said “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”. His words weren’t empty ones. He lived it out when He laid down His life on the cross for us.
So when I consider the collective effort of man to capture the essence of love, I can’t help but see that every love story ever written, produced, sung or depicted in music, film, or art is just a pale reflection, or a bad counterfeit, of this one glorious Biblical truth.
Can you look at the cross and recognize the declaration of God’s heart for you? Can you hear His literal ‘dying-breath’ expression of love? Can you see the lengths God has gone in forgiving your sin and reconciling you to Himself? The Bible declares, “you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold… but with the precious blood of Christ”. His love is not measured by clever greeting cards, bouquets of flowers or boxes of chocolates. It is measured in flesh, blood and tears; by the sacrifice of His Son. His unfailing devotion to us isn’t embodied in gifts of diamond rings or earthly wealth, but by the gift of the Holy Spirit, who gives love, joy and power to truly live, to all who place their faith in Christ Jesus. He alone offers eternal life where ‘happily ever after’ isn’t a child’s fairytale, but the literal hope of heaven.
God will not force his love on any of us. He offers it freely, through faith, by grace. He has done all He will, in Christ, to express His love to us. Now, the same question that has been printed on literally countless Valentine’s Day cards, God asks of you and I; “Will you be Mine?”
By Pastor Tim Mattox
Paphos Calvary Chapel
www.calvarycyprus.com