The love of God on Valentine's Day

As Valentine's Day comes round again, we are reminded that love comes in many forms.

Love is in the air as Valentine’s Day (14 February) provides a time for partners, admirers and hopeful romantics to acknowledge the people they care about by showing them some extra appreciation.

This year, the day falls on Saturday, allowing weekend getaways on top of the traditional heartfelt cards, flowers, sweet treats and dates.

The day is inspired by the legend of Saint Valentine, a third century Christian priest who was said to have conducted the marriages of Roman soldiers the emperor had forbidden to marry. This led to his execution on 14 February. 

However, it was more than another thousand years before the 14th century author Geoffrey Chaucer brought romance into the day when he wrote about birds finding their mate on Saint Valentine’s Day in his poem ‘The Parlement of Foules’.

Centuries later, William Shakespeare included references to the day in two of his plays – Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Little is known about how the day was celebrated then, but historians believe that ‘valentines’ were chosen among groups of friends who marked their choice by exchanging gifts between them.

It wasn’t until the 18th century that the more modern traditions began to appear. By the middle of the 19th century, specially printed Valentine’s cards were being produced and, in 1880, more than 1.5 million cards were sent by post.

But the cards fell out of fashion and almost disappeared at the outbreak of the First World War.

Revivals in the 1920s and the 1950s brought back card sending and the start of the modern version of Valentine’s Day.

Today, the occasion is a major retail event with 8 million roses imported and 25 million cards sent. In 2024, an incredible £2.1 billion was spent by 35 million people in the UK alone.

But Valentine’s Day isn’t a great day for everyone. It can highlight the absence of a loved one, the distance of a partner or the regrets some experience because they don’t have that ‘special’ someone. The day can stir up a mix of emotions – not just romance, but also grief, frustration and loneliness.

Whatever our feelings for the day may be, there is another love we can all experience – one that goes deeper than romance. God’s love is different from anything else we can encounter on Earth. It is consistent and people can rely on it regardless of their circumstances.

One Bible writer described God’s love this way: ‘How priceless your faithful love is, God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings’ (Psalm 36:7 Christian Standard Bible).

In a world full of grand gestures and heart-shaped gifts, we can trust that God’s love is bigger than one date in the calendar. If we choose to build a relationship with him, we have someone who remembers, accompanies and supports us through every emotion and situation we face – every single day of the year.