Valentine's Day

Pavement Ends Ministry

Valentine’s Day

February 14th is Valentine’s Day. It is a day of celebrating the romantic love between men and women. It is also a day when Jared, Hallmark, and FTD Flowers celebrate an increase in their revenue. I do not think many people know the real story behind all the candy, flowers, and heart-shaped cards. While it is good that we celebrate love and marriage, we need to remember the man who was Saint Valentine.

Valentine lived during the time of Claudius II. This evil Roman emperor persecuted the church and outlawed marriage. The time in which Valentine lived was much like today in that it was a very permissive society. All lifestyles were permitted and encouraged, except traditional marriage. Valentine refused to submit to laws that subverted the will of God. He was eventually imprisoned and tortured to death for performing marriage ceremonies against the commands of Emperor Claudias.

We know that there are many similarities between the time of Valentine's life and ours. In the permissive society that we live in, traditional and Godly marriage is under attack. Today the government and the court system have proven to be anti-God and anti-marriage. For this reason, now more than ever, we need people like Valentine who will stand and say no to an evil and corrupt culture. Remember this, when loving righteousness and serving God becomes a crime, being an outlaw will be honorable.