Christmas and New Years are over, what that means for most stores is that it is now time to get ready for Valentine’s day! A celebration of love, and romance, where everything is heart shaped and happy! The church actually agrees with the world! It’s time to look forward to celebrating the day of love and happiness! Though of course while both the church and world are celebrating the same idea, the execution is drastically different.

For the world Valentine’s day is very much about a superficial, romantic, warm and fuzzy feelings type of love. Also known as "Hollywood love." It aspires to make us think of little cupids shooting arrows of love, and ideas that love is in the air. Hollywood Love encourages boxes of chocolates, and flowers, and every tangible item a young charming man might need to instantly sweep a pretty lady off her feet! In its simplest form, Hollywood Love seems to describe love as a instantaneous feeling that comes upon us without warning, and then stays warm and fuzzy forever! Valentine’s day love is very much like a fairy tale, where two people fall in love, and the rest of the story doesn’t matter, they just will live happily ever after!

Now there is nothing wrong with this type of celebration of love. In many ways I think we can find the ideal of love in Hollywood love. A love that continues without question of what lies ahead, that is unconditional, and where every day is just as good as yesterday. That is certainly something good to strive for even if it’s not attainable.

But the church has a different kind of love in mind. The church is gearing up for the love of Christ, which is nothing like a Hollywood movie. The love of Christ is intentional. It did not come upon someone like a warm breeze, it was a decision made, and followed through on with fierce determination. The love of Christ was not roses and flowers, it was an execution and a tombstone. The love of Christ was not oblivious to tomorrow, rather it could think of nothing but tomorrow, and what was to come with it. The love of Christ doesn’t need chocolates and flowers, or cupids or warm and fuzzy feelings. This is because the love of Christ is about Jesus willingly, and freely laying down his life for the sake of our salvation, because of his deep love for us. It is a love that dies for the one whom he loves.

While we all need to start with the warm and fuzzy feelings of love. We also all need to be willing to take that love to the next level, to turn it into a sacrificial love. Christ tells his apostles “Love one another as I have loved you.” So as Christ has given all for the one whom he loves, so we too must be willing to take our love to that depth, commitment, and end. So by all means, enjoy the roses and cupids, but also get ready to prepare for the cross and the tomb. Not sure how to do that? No problem, that is why the Church gave us Lent…