By

JAY Wilber

February when everyone thinks about who they love and scrambles to find the perfect Valentine ’ s gift . Why is it we get so excited about a holiday and not excited about showing love every day ? They say Valentine ’ s Day is the second most celebrated holiday , followed by Christmas . Well , at least we have something correct in our thinking . They both recognize the value of love . But why wait until it ’ s a holiday to say something about love ?

“ For this is how God loved the world : He gave his one and only Son , so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life . God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world , but to save the world through him ” ( John 3:16-17 , NLT ).

God Loves us , and we need to tell people . This is the most quoted Bible verse of all time . We see it at sporting events , on signs , and on billboards , and we hear people say it when they try to share Jesus with others . But what does that love really mean ? How important is it ? Why do people need to know about it ? It means the One who created the universe wants a special

relationship with us . He loves us and was willing to die for us . He came to earth to show that love and He is coming back .

This year , we are talking about Jesus coming back . What does that mean for us , and why is His love so important ? His love has no strings attached .

“ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners ” ( Romans 5:8 , NLT ).

You see , God loved us before we even knew Him . When we were still living in sin , He loved us . That ’ s what is so amazing about His love . I saw a moving title years ago : “ The Greatest Story Ever Told ,” released on February 15 , 1965 . It ’ s funny how that came out the day after Valentine ’ s Day .

Don ’ t we have the most incredible story to tell ? How do we show God ’ s love ? Well , we can ’ t without first receiving His love . Then we must do something about it . We just can ’ t hope somehow people find out on their own . We must tell them He loves them . “ We love each other because he loved us first ” ( 1 John 4:19 , NLT ).

We can ’ t share something we

don ’ t have . At the same time , if we have His love , how can we not share it ? If we believe He is coming back , we need to share Jesus with others . We need to have urgency , and we need to be ready ourselves . “ We know how much God loves us , and we have put our trust in his love . God is love , and all who live in love live in God , and God lives in them ” ( 1 John 4:16 , NLT ).

If we believe He ’ s coming back , we must share His love daily and not wait for just one day a year to show our love for one another . So , as you plan your special day with the one you love , think about all the people we are called to love and be ready to share Jesus ’ love with others . CMA

Jay and Jane Wilber oversee the North Central Region as National Evangelist .

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