#SpreadTheGospel

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day!

What’s going on with you?

Are you happy with yourself?

(My papa likes saying that)

I wanted to publish this post on Valentine’s Day but how corny would I be? Plus, I like the number 17 so it made sense to me to publish the article today – for obvious reasons! 😛

So…. Happy 17th of February children of God!

I missed you and I missed publishing articles. During my time “away”, I remained writing but I didn’t publish much of what I wrote so now I’ve quite the number of manuscripts. The Holy Spirit and I will unpack, edit and publish each piece by the grace of the Almighty God. Thing is, the more I write, the more things I have to write about, and some stories may get overtaken by events, time or both.

Regardless, we keep it moving.

Now, how many cartoon fans are in the house? Show of hands please? 🤚🏽

Good.

How many of you know Emmet from The Lego Movie? There’s a particular song he likes that goes, 🎶“everything is awesome”🎶 and ever since I watched the movie, the song lives rent free in my head.

I re-nicknamed Nonchalant to Awesome Ninja Turtle (ANT) because words have power and it is important that I speak life and speak by faith, calling things that are not, as though they were.

“….the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.”

Romans 4:17 NIV

God used ANT to bless me in a special way on Valentine’s Day – it was quite the pleasant surprise to receive such a heartfelt gesture, and excitement could not begin to describe how I felt in that moment. That’s what inspired the title of this article.

Valentine’s Day is all about love, and the world often celebrates the eros kind of love on this day, showcasing grand gestures, romantic dinners, and heartfelt gifts exchanged between couples. However, my first acquaintance with Valentine’s Day was not from a romantic angle; instead, it was steeped in the affection of my (earthly) father, and that laid the foundation for my understanding of love in its diverse forms.

My father introduced me to Valentine’s Day from as early as my memory serves me. Papa always took us out for dinner as a family to celebrate the day, where we would enjoy a delightful meal together in a colourful setting filled with love and laughter – a cherished family tradition that I hold dear. My mama would ensure we had the best outfits, decked in red, attune to the theme of the day. I truly had an amazing childhood! ❤

I thank God for blessing me with amazing parents who are intentional about giving me the best. They continue to dedicate their efforts to creating sweet memories for and with me that will last a lifetime. Each day spent with them strengthens my gratitude for their presence in my life, reminding me of the importance of family and the joy that our shared memories bring.

I cherish the bond we share, knowing that these experiences will remain etched in my heart forever. Every moment is a treasured chapter in our journey together.

My commemoration of Valentine’s Day has changed over the years since adulthood – from ushering it in from the club during my party days, where the focus was on having a good time, to giving my life to Christ, when the day marked a deeper commitment in my spiritual journey, to featuring an ode to God in an outward expression of love – it’s apparent that Valentine’s Day/Week bears more meaning to me than I give it credit.

My Heavenly Father, God Almighty, showed us His Agape love in the ultimate display of love ever known to mankind – the cross.

Interestingly, the typology of Christ and the Church also has connotations of eros love. Jesus presents Himself as our Husband and we, the Church, are His bride.

 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her  to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Ephesians 5:25-27 NIV

In the Hebrew Bible, synonymous to what we call the Old Testament, we see God declaring Himself as the Husband of Israel, giving us another dynamic into the kind of love God has for us.

For your Maker is your husband—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth.

Isaiah 54:5 NIV

The theme of love is prevalent in the whole Bible from beginning to end; so much so that Jesus’ summarization of the utmost important commandments for us to observe, both contain love – the unequivocal love of and for God, and the love for one’s neighbours’ as oneself.

 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22: 37-40 NIV

Love is so pivotal in God’s equation that if any believer would do great and mighty deeds in the name of the Lord but does them without love? Jesus will not recognize them!

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 7:22-23 NIV

Apostle Paul further enhances Jesus’ message in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 13:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In the introductory verses, Apostle Paul uses vivid imagery to paint a picture of how important love is in our daily walk with Christ. Illustrated perfectly by the verses above, we now know that even the grandest of deeds will be akin to nothing if done without love.

So, what is love according to God’s Word?

In the same chapter, Apostle Paul proceeds to describe the attributes of love in the following verses:

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.”

‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭5‬, ‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Each year, I find myself reflecting on the importance of love, not just in romantic ways but in the broader sense of charity and kindness toward others; making Valentine’s Day a celebration of all loves—be it friendship, family, or divine love.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:7-12 NIV

I am truly grateful to be a child of God – He loves us unconditionally, and He knows our every need. If you would like to give your life to Christ and live in love like a child of God, please repeat the below prayer out loud:

Dear Lord,

Thank You for dying on the cross for me. I believe in my heart that you died and rose again and I confess with my mouth that You are Lord and Saviour in my heart and in my life. I denounce my former ways and choose to be Your child. Thank You for setting me free. I am now born again.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Congratulations! You have made the best decision in your life! Welcome to the Kingdom of God; your name is now written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Dear reader, God loves you more than you could ever fathom. Rest in His love.

‘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 NKJV

XO,

That Lady