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February 14

Pansies are a beautiful flower and are said to be the emblem of love. Today, of course, is the day of love, St. Valentine’s Day. Indeed another name for pansy is heartsease.

The origin of St. Valentine’s Day is a bit obscure. Apparently, it can be traced back to one or two St. Valentines. Seemingly, the sending of cards and flowers such as pansies has no relation to the saints or any incidents in their lives.

I can see, however, one single connection between the day we celebrate—February 14—and the Christian faith of the saints, and that is the emphasis on love. Yet the meaning of love is quite different.

“God is love,” writes the Apostle John in his first epistle, and he goes on to describe love. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear . . . The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” Then he adds: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:18–19). John had written earlier: “No one has seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:12).

An expert in Jewish law, a Pharisee, approached Jesus one day with this question: “Teacher,” he said, “which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus responded very directly: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36–40).

In other words, these two statements—love for God and love for each other—are at the heart of all the other commandments, including the Ten Commandments and many more.

Hopefully, this sort of love—our love for God, God’s love for us, and our love for one another—will dominate our thinking this St. Valentine’s Day.