"The way you lose the gospel is not by denying it but by assuming it" -D.A. Carson
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Is Jesus 'my' Valentine?
Valentines Day, called Singles Awareness Day (or SAD, according to theologian/model/professional skin boarder Matthew Greenwald) has come upon us yet again. Funny how days seem to repeat themselves once a year. I can remember one Valentines Day past, where a ministry colleague smirked at the testimony of a young woman who claimed "Jesus is my Valentine." While the term 'valentine' doesn't occur in most translations, or rather any of them, I wonder if the concept of Jesus being someone's Valentine isn't more biblical than less biblical. For starters, Jesus does clearly call himself the bridegroom (Matt 9:15). And this is simply a continuation of a husband/wife relationship God shared with Israel-"And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you (Isa 62:5)." In addition, the church is described as the wife, and Christ is the husband (Eph 5:23-33). If we sit back and reflect that God looks down upon us with joy, as though we were his bride (a difficult metaphor to grasp if you are a dude), we will see its really not a stretch. Instead of flowers or cards, we get the cross and a love that actually fulfills us. So I guess the best terminology would not be Jesus is MY valentine, but OUR (the church) Valentine. If you want to use that language, I'd fully support you without any smirk or grimace!
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Having seen Matthew's shins in the early days of his 'boarding' career, I can understand why you call him a 'skin' boarder. However, I think you mean 'skim'... :-)
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