Pastel Sugar Hearts*

As you read this, many school children will be preparing to take part in the time-honored tradition of exchanging Valentine’s Day cards. What strikes me most as I help my kids pick out cards, is neither the dizzying variety to choose from nor my nostalgia for the “good old” cartoons of yesterday. No, what really impresses me is that whichever we choose, there have to be enough cards in the box for everyone in class. There has to be a card for your best friend and one for the kid who keeps checking out the library book you want. There has to be a card for the boy or girl you talk to everyday after school and there has to be one for the kid whose name you have to look up. Simply put, there has to be one for everyone. When did we grow up and stop loving like this? When did we start thinking love was a feeling and not a promise? When did we start believing that love was a reward instead of a gift? And, when did Christians decide that the new commandment given by Jesus was a suggestion? The Gospel According to John, chapter 13, verse 34 reads, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” God loves each one of us every minute of everyday. And, while we do not have to first change who we are to receive the promise of God’s love; God’s love is the gift of new life, a changed life, life lived in light of who God created and calls us to be. It is a Valentine’s Day card. And, there is one for everyone!

* first published as a Pastor's Corner column in the Cass County Reporter