Same story different year....

So we are rounding the time of the year again where we bring out the red and pink hearts and we give over priced chocolate and flowers to the ones we love.... yes you are right, I am talking about Valentines day. This has always been one of those holidays I question of why do we wait for one day of the year to make it so special? Christmas is the same way. We give presents and recognize Jesus but when we think about it shouldn't we be doing that everyday. Well Valentine's day can come back to the same thing. Doesn't the scripture talk about love your neighbor as yourself? That is actually a COMMANDMENT of the Lord. He didn't say wait til one special day of the year and love you neighbor, he said love your neighbor. That means that is supposed to be done everyday. I know your probably saying that you give your husband, boyfriend, wife or girlfriend a gift not just anyone. Well why? I ask you who is your neighbor? Is it necessarily the person you live next to? NO. It is anyone you happen to be next to at any given time of the day or your life. We are to love always and love everyone as we love OURSELVES. WOW. Some of us need to realize we don't do a very good job of that either. We can't love anyone else until we love ourselves the way we are supposed to and catch this one... we can't love ourselves until we learn how God loves us and accept that love the way it was meant to be in our life. WOW that was a big bite to swallow I know. I had a hard time grasping this concept. I am still working on applying this every day in my life. I once saw a man I know on Valentine's Day (which was on a Sunday last year) go to church and worship God the way I always saw him worship... all out.... and during that worship he took a card he had in an envelope of place it on the altar... He then went on to tell the congregation what God had put on his hear that year. He had been struggling with wanting a wife and family. And always saw Valentine's Day in that perspective and was feeling bad that he would not have anyone to share that with this year. Well he realized he had the greatest Valentine of all... JESUS... So he loved God the way that we should and recognized that that was a day to be set aside to love but that it should be done every day in the same way... Well I am excited to tell you that this year he will have more than just a Valentine but he has a wife by his side to share his Valentine with (Jesus). So the first commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your hear, soul and mind... and then love your neighbor as yourself... So I think we need to get the idea during this love season what the Lord is trying to show us... We need to be showing love to people all days of the year not just on one day because that is the commercialized day... I pray that you are all filled with the love of God in your life and that it will overflow into those that are around you at anytime of the day in your life.