Valentine's Day comes in February.  This is a day in which many take the opportunity to say to someone special, "I love you!"  I think we need more of that; especially after a year like the one we've just been through.  I'm not sure why we need a specific day to remind us about the importance of special people in our lives; but in many ways it is helpful.  The fact is, it is easy to take both blessings and people for granted.  So I would remind you that Sunday, February 14, is Valentines Day and this is traditionally a time for couples (married, committed, dating, and engaged) to share expressions of love with one another.

Many are familiar with the words of Revelation 22:13 where Christ says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."  When he speaks of the "alpha and omega" he is referring to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.  It is sort of like saying, "I am the 'A' and the 'Z'."  It is Christ's way of affirming that in terms of our life, He is the one who is with us at the beginning and He is the one who will be with us until the end.  These are powerful and comforting words.  But what do these words mean for us in terms our daily life?  What do these words mean in terms of our response to Him?  At least four things come to my mind...

There is a playground on the property of our church.  It is a very nice one that was developed in memory of one of our children who lost her life in a tragic way.  It was developed primarily for use by our church members, but it is open to all from our community.  One of the playground's most frequent guests is a young girl who will come and, for hours, simply swing.  

I'm usually not surprised to see her on the swing.  When I come and go from my office, frequently we will wave to each other as I pass by.  But one day the temperature was freezing.  In fact the temperature gage said 22!  Yet, there she was, swinging on the swing.  What in the world could this mean?

It finally happened!  The tree in my back yard, that I was planning to cut down, fell over.  I didn't even know it had happened; my grandson came in from the backyard and shouted, "Pappy, your tree fell down!"  He was right.  It had toppled to the ground and when I examined it, amazingly, I could find no evidence of any roots.  I don't know exactly what happened to them, but without roots the tree had no chance to remain standing.  It is much like that in our spiritual life as well...