Happy Valentine’s Day. Read 1 John 3:16-18. Rhonda has been my Valentine for 43 years. I’m always the one who initiates the “I love you.” She has responded differently over the years. When our oldest three children were 5, 3, and 1, we were very poor, and life was difficult. I was working three jobs and going to seminary. Rhonda was a stay-at-home mom because it was cheaper to stay home than to pay for three children in child care. I left at 4:30 am to my first job, leave from there to go to classes, and then get home around 6:00 pm unless I had another job that would keep me out until 10:00 pm. During those years, she would respond to my “I love you” greeting with, “What have you done for me lately?” It was frustrating for me, but then I changed my routine. When I got home, I would pick up the toys in the front room, clean off the table in the kitchen, and bring in the firewood. Our sole source of heat was a wood stove. My spoken words of love were reinforced by my acts of love. The Apostle John wrote, “Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth.” Words are still important, but they become empty when not accompanied by action. Jesus is the greatest example of love in action. Motivated by love, Jesus laid down his life for us so that we might live forever. Whether you have a partner or are single, Valentine’s Day is a good day to show an act of love to someone.

Holy God, show me what true love is and help me be an example of Jesus’ love. Give me guidance so that someone feels your love through my actions today. Amen.