A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
After my dear husband Walt graduated from high school, he worked for Boeing Aircraft in Seattle installing electronic equipment in B-17’s and B-29’s during the war. He was just as adept at mechanics and math and science. (He gave all that up to reach people for Jesus.) Despite his intellectual abilities, he had a romantic streak that totally endeared him to me.
The jewelry store at the mall always featured a pretty necklace, a ring, or a bracelet for Valentine’s day. Walt called them “baubles,” and every year he bought me a “bauble” for a valentine, always enclosing a sweet note.
In early February one year, the phone rang. A voice asked, “May I please speak to Dr. Handford?”
“I’m sorry; he’s at work. May I take a message?”
“This is the jeweler’s at the mall. Please tell him the ring he ordered has come in.”
Ooops!
The ring was lovely, though not a surprise. More important, with it he wrote a long note to express his deep love and contentment in our relationship.
Your Almighty Creator God has sent you a valentine, a very special valentine, unbelievably costly. Have you opened it?
God’s valentine is different from all others. His valentine tells how much He loves all of us, even those who hate Him and don’t want Him in their lives. And that’s why it is so astonishing. You’ll find God’s valentine in Romans 5:5-9:
For we know how dearly God loves us,
because He has given us the Holy Spirit
to fill our hearts with His love.
When we were utterly helpless,
Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
Now, no one is likely to die for a good person,
though someone might be willing to die
for a person who is especially good.
But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us
while we were still sinners.
And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ,
He will certainly save us from God’s judgment.
Your great God doesn’t want you to suffer in eternity without Him. He has loved you with everlasting love when you didn’t even know Him, or perhaps didn’t even want to know Him. What a precious gift He has offered you. And it is yours for the asking.
Have you opened His valentine?