Shema
CF Ambassador
An Emoji Devotional for Tue 14th Feb, 2023
A Valentine Special
Topic: God calls you - Be my Valentine!
By Pastor Hans Wenger
From early age men and women around the world dream of becoming the very special person of someone else. Somebody who makes me feel at home, somebody who assures me that we belong to each other, no matter what may happen around us. Such human encounters can euphorically magic wonderful colors before our eyes and wild dancing butterflies into our stomach.
We cannot help falling in love with the most precious person who just invited me to be his or her Valentine. It is romantic, exquisite and at least for the moment happiness seizes us, and we experience all our longings satisfied. Dating relationships, and covenants for life often start exactly that way, but our short life-span as human beings makes the “forever” always limited.
Have you ever entertained the thought that God calls you to be his valentine for eternity?
This is no joke; he actually does exactly that for you! He says: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’ (Jeremiah 31:3) Originally he speaks here to his chosen people Israel, but Jesus made clear, that in him every person in the whole world is meant. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’” (Matthew 11:28 – 30)
God has put Adam and Eve in a perfect world in the Garden of Eden. They lived in the presence of the Holy Trinity and had free access to the creator, but they decided to trust the words of the serpent more than their creator and brought themselves under the dominion of death, of the separation from God. With the curse of having now an individual knowledge of good and evil, they brought strife, hate, war, murder and tyranny among themselves. They were created for life in Paradise and were now forced to live in a world within which with everybody and with everything is something wrong. Eventually Jesus Christ, the son of God, became human and lived a perfect and sin free life among us and sacrificed himself to overcome death, the main enemy of man. Through his victory over evil, death and all the powers of the darkness he can now give life eternal to all who are willing to surrender to him. He is the way, the truth and the life and nobody comes to the Father except through him. (John 14:6)
Surrender to him means to accept that God is absolutely good and that I am willing to submit my own will under his will. With this attitude I am willing to learn from him and to be changed into his image. ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’ (John 17:1 – 3) Whoever comes to him becomes a child of God and belongs to the bride of Christ. Together with him God’s children will inherit the kingdom of the Father.
Today God calls you – be my Valentine and I will give you rest for your soul and life eternal. Take the step and you will most certainly never rue it.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, today I come to you confessing that I have sinned against you and against my fellow men and women. I pray for your forgiveness and I surrender to you and I want to learn from you. I invite you into my heart and pray that you will change me from the inside out, so that I am beginning to spread your love and your character. Thank you, that your forgiveness makes me clean from all my sins. Help me to grow into your image.
