“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.” Song of Sol. 7:10
Lord Jesus, on our Gregorian Calendar, it’s Valentine’s Day—a day set aside for celebrating the gift of romantic love. It stirs within a wide range of memories and feelings. From middle-school infatuation, through heart-joys, break-ups, to finally laying to rest a beloved spouse—the wonders, pain, risks, and beauty of love have marked our stories. But all love whispers, hints, and points toward a greater love—the greatest love.
Indeed, on the Calendar of Grace, today is the perfect day for remembering and reveling in the only love better than life. Your great love for us, Jesus. No human relationship, no great romance, no torrid love affair can fill the place in our hearts reserved for you. Our sweetest relationships, healthiest marriages, and most endearing friendships are a taste of what belonging to you actually means, Jesus.
You are the ultimate Spouse, the one we always wanted. Every human marriage is temporary—a reality that should humble and thrill us, more so than make us sad. For in heaven, we’ll actually love and enjoy one another more than we ever did in this life. Only our marriage to you is forever—the fulfillment of our reason for being, the fullness of every good thing we have in you.
Until the Day you return, Jesus, may your love inhabit, shape, and fuel all other loves—in our marriages and singleness, when relationships are easy and when they’re not. So Very Amen, we pray.