Valentine’s Day is coming, and it’s a good time to remind ourselves of who we are: We are God’s Beloved children.
God, the One who is the very definition of love, calls us His Beloved (1 John 4:16b).
His words are not spoken flippantly. His words are intentional, genuine, and powerful. “The grass withers, and the flower fades {including Valentine roses}, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). God calls us His Beloved because He means it. We are dear to His heart.
Still, we are ladies who love love, especially when it comes with flowers, gifts, and chocolate! As Valentine’s Day approaches, we can’t help but wonder: “Will I get roses?”
Well, what do you think? Is your forecast for Valentine’s Day looking rosey?
I was 29 when I started dating my husband, Steve, which means I survived experienced many Valentine’s Days alone. Pre-Steve, I remember only two V-days when I had a boyfriend. It was a HUGE relief to face “Love Day” with certainty that I would be remembered, but Valentine’s Day comes and goes. You may be showered with attention one year and completely forgotten the next. When you’re feeling overlooked, it’s difficult to see a peer with a glass vase bursting with Valentine’s roses.
You know it’s just a fragile glass vase.
The flowers will soon fade.
Yet, every flower-filled vase seems to scream:
“She is loved, and you are unloved.”
“She is special, and you are not good enough.”
That is a LOT of power to give a flower-filled vase.
Ryan (name has been changed) and I began dating the summer after I graduated high school through my first year of college. Ryan was three years older than me and had a good job. He did Valentine’s Day right: dinner, roses, chocolates, AND he took me on a shopping spree at the mall!
This guy bought me roses ALL THE TIME—dozens and dozens of gorgeous, long-stemmed red roses. Ryan told me he loved me, and I believed him. The roses helped me believe! Over time, I learned Ryan’s version of love was manipulative, and at times, untruthful. Being the recipient of his love was miserable.
I eventually broke up with him, and what did he do in response? He sent me MORE stinking roses! As the delivery guy handed me the vase, I came close to telling him to take the roses back to the florist. I even contemplated throwing them away. Ungrateful would be a good word to describe me.
I ended up keeping the roses until the petals turned dark reddish-black, crinkled up, and started falling off the stems. Those dying roses symbolized my relationship with Ryan and taught me a lesson:
Love doesn’t come in glass vases, and a gift is only as good as the love behind it.
That’s when I took off my rose-colored glasses and stopped allowing Valentine’s Day and roses to speak to my worth.
*Does Valentine’s Day challenge your sense of worth in any way? If so, describe.
*What does it mean that you have worth as God’s Beloved daughter?
God knew we would struggle to understand our worth, so He graciously declared our worth in the very first chapter in the Bible. “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).
Mankind’s birth was a special occasion.
When it says “Let us make man,” the “us” in the verse refers to the three members of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All were present at the creation of the world, however, their presence at the creation of mankind is emphasized.
Those who gather in anticipation of a child’s birth are usually those who will share the closest relationship with the child, those who already love the child. The Bible draws attention to the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at mankind’s birth because this was a special occasion. They greatly loved mankind. We were created Beloved.
The making of mankind was special.
When He created the world, God spoke like this:
“Let there be light.”
“Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters…”
“Let the earth sprout…”
“Let the waters swarm…”
“Let the earth bring forth…”
-Genesis 1:3, 14, 11, 20, 24
When God made man and woman, he approached the creation process differently. He said, “Let us make man…,” and then He spent some time forming us. Genesis 2 describes this: “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7). He settled Adam into a temporary sleep, skillfully removed a rib from him, and carefully re-connected his flesh. “So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of the man’s ribs and closed up its place with flesh” (Genesis 2:21).
Using the man’s rib as a starting point, He masterfully and gracefully weaved the woman into existence. “And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:22). When one has the choice, he spends more time doing what he loves and less time doing what he likes. God desired to spend more time crafting man and woman because He loved us above the rest of creation. The depth of His love for us elevated our position with Him and increased our worth. We were created Beloved. 
Mankind was specially designed.
“So God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27a). Holy, powerful, glorious, artistic, love-defining God deliberately weaved characteristics of Himself into us. How special is that?! We bear His image, evidence that our identity, our worth, is connected to Him. We were made to reflect God, to draw attention to Him, to honor Him. For God to make us like Himself and to entrust us with the extraordinary purpose of making Him known to the world reveals the magnitude of His love for us. We were created Beloved.
Mankind’s sin was not special.
When we sinned against our Creator, we broke our precious relationship with the One who defines our worth. In light of a Holy God, our sin-darkened hearts are unloveable. Yet, God sent us the greatest gift, His Beloved Son, to die for our sins and make a way for us to be forgiven. Through Jesus’ death on the cross, our relationship with Him is restored.
Because of Jesus, God calls us His Beloved children (1 John 3:1-3). The truest of loves calls us His own!
Jesus is better than roses any day of the year!
Here’s a Valentine’s note for you:
Dear Beloved One,
I’m here to remind you that your birth was special to Me. The way I created you was special. You were specially designed. You were created Beloved—greatly loved, highly valued, respected, and cherished.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3b). My love for you is “patient and kind, rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. My love never ends” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
You were special to me in the beginning of the world. Through My Beloved Son, you are special to Me now and eternally. You are loved on this Valentine’s Day! Take me at My Word, and Be-Loved!
Your Heavenly Father
.
*Verses are ESV unless noted.
