{"id":7425,"date":"2017-02-14T05:37:52","date_gmt":"2017-02-14T05:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=7425"},"modified":"2017-02-08T12:40:56","modified_gmt":"2017-02-08T12:40:56","slug":"happy-valentines-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/happy-valentines-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Valentine&#8217;s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>So if I\u2019m honest, I\u2019m not the most romantic bloke in the world. It\u2019s not outside of my skillset but it just doesn\u2019t happen naturally at times, so Valentines\u2019 day can be a bit stressful.<\/p>\n<p>I had a look at the history of Valentines\u2019 day, and was surprised to see that Valentine was a Christian martyr paying the ultimate price for love. It is suggested that Bishop Valentine in around 250 AD was secretly conducting marriages even though Emperor Claudius II had told the Bishops not to during wartime. For obvious reasons Claudius was unhappy and had Valentine imprisoned and executed. Even though Valentines name is still remembered his act of self-sacrifice has been long forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>Why am I writing this short and concise history lesson? Well I think that celebrating love is so important and whilst we can lose ourselves trying to pick a card for Valentines\u2019 day, what we are trying to do is celebrate love.<\/p>\n<p>The bible has an incredible section in it where Jesus is talking to his mates about love and he says this: \u2018<em>Love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends.<\/em>\u2019 John 15:12-13<\/p>\n<p>Now, by including this sort of verse here we have basically removed all the romanticised, chocolate bunnies and heart shaped cards &#8211; sorry about that. But this is important because Bishop Valentines\u2019 love wasn\u2019t about chocolate bunnies and cards it was about loving, serving and caring for people. This love cost him his life.<\/p>\n<p>What I want to suggest is that if you have a \u2018valentine\u2019 and share your heart shaped card with them, also consider the day and the history behind it and the on-going way you want to share your love. You might think I\u2019ve taken this too far, but let me ask you a question: is it OK to say we love one person but hate another? Is it OK to show love in our actions to one person but actively destroy and criticise someone else? Is it OK to send chocolates and heart shaped cards to the one we love but join the ridicule and cutting banter of someone in the work place?<\/p>\n<p>Valentines\u2019 day is a day to show love, but it is just a day, one day. I believe the love Jesus calls us to show is a lifestyle, a rhythm of love that influences your actions and reactions everyday. As men who love profoundly, we are called to let that love impact the core of who we are as followers of Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>So as you celebrate love, yeah, eat the chocolates like no ones watching &#8211; go for it, but also remember Bishop Valentine and his act of love. Then top that by considering the act of love shown to us by Jesus, you are no longer called servants but friends says Jesus, love has changed everything!<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"border: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/team-cvm-podcast_600x200.jpg?w=750\" alt=\"team-cvm-podcast_600x200\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Image Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/2PODhmrvLik\" target=\"_blank\">Mayur Gala<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/happy-valentines-day\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So if I\u2019m honest, I\u2019m not the most romantic bloke in the world. It\u2019s not outside of my skillset but it just doesn\u2019t happen naturally at times, so Valentines\u2019 day can be a bit stressful. I had a look at the history of Valentines\u2019 day, and was surprised to see that Valentine was a Christian [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":7426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1374,1375,110,583,120,1373],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lovelovelove.png?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-1VL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7869,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/make-christian-marriage-possible\/","url_meta":{"origin":7425,"position":0},"title":"Make Christian Marriage Possible","date":"14 February 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In considering writing something for Valentines day, I have to confess the commercial pomp and fizz around the day does little for me and my wife. However, readers beware, there is a hidden trap that many men have fallen into. It\u2019s that conversation the week before about Valentine\u2019s day, you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/valentines.jpg?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8343,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/valentines-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":7425,"position":1},"title":"Valentines Day","date":"14 February 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you caught up in the hunt for a bunch of roses and a 2kg bar of chocolate for your significant other half? Or are you standing your ground in defiance, voicing a silent protest against the marketing and commercialisation of a day of romance?\u00a0 Or maybe, you are in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jamie-street-512689-unsplash.jpg?fit=1000%2C743&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5839,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/reviews\/kingsman-the-secret-service-15\/","url_meta":{"origin":7425,"position":2},"title":"Kingsman: The Secret Service (15)","date":"2 February 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Director: Matthew Vaughn Cast\u00a0Starring: Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine, Mark Strong, Taron Egerton, Sofia Boutella \u201cManners.\u00a0Maketh.\u00a0Man...\u00a0Do you know what that means? Then let me teach you a lesson\u2026\u201d Full disclosure - I\u2019ve been a huge fan of Mark Millar\u2019s \u2018The Secret Service\u2019 since it came out in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Reviews&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":691,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/news\/lets-celebrate-fathers-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":7425,"position":3},"title":"Let&#8217;s Celebrate Father&#8217;s Day","date":"19 May 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Let\u2019s celebrate Father\u2019s day in our churches, honouring those fathers who have shown us something of God\u2019s love, praying for fathers to be given strength in their crucial role and remembering that God, who is our Father in heaven, loves us more than we can grasp.\" - Rt Rev John\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3508,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/the-historical-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":7425,"position":4},"title":"The Historical Jesus","date":"14 December 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The great, British philosopher Bertrund Russell once said, \u201cHistorically it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever existed at all, and if He did we do now know anything about Him.\u201d Why I Am Not A Christian Jesus Christ is arguably the most influential man in the whole of human history.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Demolition Squad&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/dem_squad_default_image.png?fit=256%2C256&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9201,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/your-resources-are-in-your-relationship\/","url_meta":{"origin":7425,"position":5},"title":"Your resources are in your relationship!","date":"26 January 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently I came across a wonderful story about two whales that had become trapped whilst swimming near to the Alaskan shore - they were surrounded by ice and freezing weather and unable to escape to their normal winter habitat. Soon help was at hand as local eskimos saw their plight\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/khuandinang-panmei-eNPRFAlgbAs-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7425"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7425"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7429,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7425\/revisions\/7429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}