Chosen. Delightful. Loved.
Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Also rounding the corner are sweet sentiments, weird chalky hearts, and adorable homemade Valentine's boxes. So much sweetness is in the day.
But no matter if you're with someone or not, we all have a soul-longing. A longing to be incredibly special. To be captivating. To be remembered.
Friend, I want to remind you that if the King of All Things were to pass a chalky, pink candy heart your way it would most certainly say: Be mine?
This Valentine's Day–whether single, dating, married–let's wrap our longings in love with three words that are true of you: Chosen. Delightful. Loved.
You Are Chosen
One of the sweetest things God tells His people is that it's not because of anything they have done or not done, anything they are or are not, anything they have messed up or not messed up that He has set His affections on them. It is simply because He looked at them, loved them, and chose them to be His. If you are following God, this means you. He has chosen you. When my first baby boy was born and handed to me, I was overwhelmed with love for him. And the only thing he did was exist. This is how God feels about you.
“The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
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“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
You are Delightful
The God who sets the stars into place, who holds the ocean in His hands, who said the word and the world was created–this mighty, strong, powerful God–made you and finds you delightful. Look at the synonyms for delight: enchant, captivate, thrill, please greatly. Soak it in. God is not annoyed, frustrated, or mad at you. He reaches for you, finds steady ground for you, and rescues you because He delights in you.
“He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.”
You Are Loved
There's a moment where Jesus gets up from dinner with his best friends, kneels, and removes the sandals of those men. And He washes their feet. Their grimy, stinky, dirty feet.
Whatever dirt is in your life that you are walking around with–Jesus wants to meet you there. He wants to get down in it and be with you. He loves you. He is not disgusted by you. Or afraid of you. Or disappointed in you. He came to seek you, serve you, save you. Only love voluntarily washes feet.
I love how God even sings over us with His love:
“The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
This year as you are buying cards and delicious dark chocolate covered almonds, pause for a moment. Repeat who you are:
Chosen. Delightful. Loved.
And enjoy your Valentine's Day.