Charlie Brown Valentines

Poor ol' Charlie Brown. Staring into his mailbox, hoping to find a Valentine. He never does. And when he yells "hello" into the mailbox, the only answer he gets is his own echo.

"Happy Valentine's Day" seems to be an oxymoron for Charlie. And for lots of real-life folks. Like our friend Holly, for example.

This will be her first Valentine's Day without Jack. It all happened so fast. The headaches. The emergency flight to better medical facilities. The hospital vigil. The final goodbyes. And that first morning of waking up and realizing your status has suddenly changed to "widow."

Three times in my life I've come painfully close to losing my lifetime love. Thank God, He's given her back to me each time. But the undeniable reality is that some day one of us will be gone and the other left. Cherish each day, Ron.

No doubt Valentine's Day is special and romantic for lots of people. Just ask the local florist. And even Mr. Nomance at least coughs up some coins for a card or some candy. Maybe even for a candlelight dinner at McDonald's.

But for too many, a holiday about love is a taunting reminder that there's no one there to send you a Valentine. Maybe because they're gone. Maybe because they left. Or maybe because there just isn't anyone at this point.

Love is wonderful, but there's a problem with it. It's loseable. Desertion...divorce...dying - one way or another, every love sooner or later leaves.

Well, not every. In those moments when I wondered if the love of my life would be here tomorrow, I had an anchor. From someone who has promised me, "I will never leave you or forsake you." Someone who has never broken a promise. Someone who backed up His promise with His life.

Yes, Jesus made that promise (Hebrews 13:5). Not just to me, but to everyone who belongs to Him. We just watched the video of the memorial service for our friend Jack. And while it was evident he will be greatly missed, hope was all over the place. All over the people he loved. Because, as they testified, they were being carried by that Greater Love.

You can find love and romance and companionship lots of places. But there's only one place you can find a love you cannot lose. The love you were made for. In the arms of Jesus Christ. Of whom the Bible says, "Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).

I know He'll never leave me. Because if He was ever going to, it would have been when His love for me meant being nailed to a cross. But He went the distance. Because there was no other way I could ever know God...no way I could ever escape the hellish penalty for hijacking my life from God. And no other way I could be with Him in His heaven forever.

In the greatest act of love in human history, "He carried our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). He didn't deserve that cross. I didn't deserve to have God's Son dying in my place. But He did. Then, three days later, He walked out of His grave - and when I invited Him, He walked into my life. And He will never walk out.

Yes, there is an unloseable love. But only one. A love that will never desert you...never divorce you...never die on you.

His name is Jesus.