Yeah. SAINT Valentine. Yesterday was his Feast day. What made him such a saint? Glad you asked!
Valentine was a priest who married Christian couples in Rome under the rule of Claudius II. Claudius didn't want folks to get married. A) he hated Christianity, and B) he thought that if men got married it made them less likely to do their duty in the Roman Army. It's a bit more complex than that, but that's the short-short version.
So Valentine is out there, marrying young lovers against the will of the Roman emperor. He gets arrested. While he's in jail, his jailor tests his faith by asking Valentine to heal his blind daughter's eyes. Valentine prays to God, touches the girl's eyes and she can see. The jailor and his entire family convert.
Even Claudius is impressed with Valentine. So impressed, in fact, that he makes a generous offer to Valentine: Renounce Christ, worship the Roman gods, and Claudius would let him live. Valentine says "No thanks, and hey, you should convert to Christianity and worship the Christ Jesus." That does't go over well. Claudius has Valentine tortured, beaten, and finally beheaded on February 14th.
So I don't do cards or flowers or chocolates for the Mrs. on St. Valentine's day. I do my best to show her I love her every single day of the year. St. Valentine's day is a day to reflect on just how much do I love God.
Do I love him enough to look death in the eye and say "Hey there, you should worship God like I do. Because then maybe you wouldn't be so angry all the time!"
To be honest, I might just say that out of sheer stubbornness.
No comments:
Post a Comment