February 2020 Ministry
February 2020
It’s February – a month set aside to celebrate love – eros, agape, storge and filial love. These are defined biblically as eros love: romantic love - agape love: God’s love for humanity - storge love: familial love - and filial love: brotherly love.
Valentine’s Day centers primarily around the romantic love relationships we share with those special people God has placed in our lives, but I assert that this holiday is also a good time to acknowledge ALL of our loving relationships. This time of the year, and in particular, Valentine’s Day, is also a time of the year when, based on the Let’s Strengthen Marriage organization, we are reminded of the importance of healthy, loving and intact marriages and families.
Founded in 2010, Let’s Strengthen Marriage established National Marriage Week USA, (in 2020 it is set for February 7th through 14th) which seeks to mobilize individuals, organizations, and businesses in a common purpose to strengthen marriage in communities and convey what social science clearly tells us: marriage leads to greater wealth, health, longevity and happiness. To the question: “Why does marriage matter?” several answers are shared in the organization’s online website from a practical, secular perspective:
"...We should provide the facts about the importance of marriage as a matter of child welfare and economic aspiration. As a society, we have launched highly effective public education campaigns on much less momentous issues, from smoking to recycling... For now, the decline of marriage is our most ignored national crisis..." -- TIME Magazine.
"The Brookings Institution says that if we had the marriage rate today that we had in 1970, there would be a 25 percent drop in poverty. The Heritage Foundation says that marriage drops the probability of a child living in poverty by 82 percent.” -- FoxNews
"National Marriage Week presents a chance to focus on rebuilding a culture of marriage for this generation." -- NEWSWEEK magazine.
In truth, while these are valid and important reasons to guard, protect and cherish the gift of marriage, as Christ followers, we are also called to a biblical standard of the value of marriage.
Supporting the Christ-centered perspective, we are given wisdom from the Word of God of how we are to ‘hold’ marriage and value family based on God’s design and intent for marriage. As a matter of fact, God uses the marriage relationship as a metaphor to speak of the relationship He wants with humanity, as we were created in His image. In the Book of Ephesians, chapter 5, Paul the Apostle wrote to the Church of Ephesus, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her… For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church”
In his book, Sacred Marriage: What if God designed Marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy, Gary Thomas states, “Isaiah uses marital imagery to stress how God rejoices in His people: “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” (Is. 62:5b). We live in a world where many people are too busy or too preoccupied to notice us. But God delights in us. We make His supernatural heart skip a beat!”
Yes, love is an amazing gift of God to His people! – It is certainly something worthy of our celebration and esteem. As you consider those special relationships God has placed in your life that provide love – especially married love and family love, it is our hope that you will pause and offer some acknowledgement and thanksgiving to One Who is the Creator and provider of love for all of us.
May the blessings of God’s love be with you this Valentine’s Day – and always!. . .And have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
