It was customary for me in primary school to hand out "Valentine's Day" cards with messages that read "Be Mine" or to give out boxes of chalky Sweethearts candies with each classmate's name written on them. It was a simple tradition which did not lead to romantic interest (as far as I know). It was the one time an easy opportunity was given to share feelings about someone, though cards or candy were brought for all. In my youth the exchange of Valentines was polite and innocent, without any promises of commitment.
God's love and grace is not fickle like the hearts of people who have a crush on someone one week and then affections can shift dramatically. God offers His favour and blessing to anyone who will have Him. In a way God asks every person, "Will you be mine?" All who consent to this relationship can count on the enduring love and the complete commitment of God forever. When I handed our Valentine's Day cards I did so only for my classmates, but Jesus has come and invited all people to follow Him - not only as servants but as friends. God is not desperate for attention or needy, as if He needed anyone to validate or appreciate His existence, but because He truly loves. Love is never content to remain at a distance but seeks unity and intimacy. This love is not based in sexual desire or selfish control. Having demonstrated God's love through dying on the cross, our response to Christ's love is the voluntary yielding of our will in recognition of who God is and all He has done - as a child before a loving parent.
This equal opportunity for God's favour was shown to the kings of Israel. After the people demanded a king, God chose Saul. He was a handsome, humble, a man head and shoulders taller than all others. David is described as a "man after God's own heart" whom God brought out of the sheepfold and set him on the throne of Israel. God then established the throne of Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. Finally (for the sake of this example), God revealed to the hard-working Jeroboam He would make him king over 10 tribes of Israel. What God promised to Saul, David, and Solomon He promised similarly to Jeroboam in 1 Kings 11:38: "Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you." If Jeroboam would be God's man, God would be with him and establish him. But if Jeroboam rejected the LORD as Saul and Solomon in their later years, God would strip the kingdom from him and his house.
God made a conditional promise to all of these kings, and only David - the man after God's own heart - continued following God faithfully. This shows us a royal bearing, great wisdom, and an industrious work ethic are not enough to keep our hearts from wandering from God. We must have transformed hearts after God's own through the power of the Holy Spirit to keep walking in God's ways, giving honour and glory to Him as is His just due. That is the prime distinction between David and the other three first mentioned: the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit of God was with David from his anointing by Samuel until the end of his days. This blessing and promise of the Father is not for kings or Jews only but even to all people from every nation under heaven. When God says "Be Mine!" and you gladly submit to this, He will be yours as long as you will have Him. Praise the LORD, for He delights to abide in us forever!
God's love and grace is not fickle like the hearts of people who have a crush on someone one week and then affections can shift dramatically. God offers His favour and blessing to anyone who will have Him. In a way God asks every person, "Will you be mine?" All who consent to this relationship can count on the enduring love and the complete commitment of God forever. When I handed our Valentine's Day cards I did so only for my classmates, but Jesus has come and invited all people to follow Him - not only as servants but as friends. God is not desperate for attention or needy, as if He needed anyone to validate or appreciate His existence, but because He truly loves. Love is never content to remain at a distance but seeks unity and intimacy. This love is not based in sexual desire or selfish control. Having demonstrated God's love through dying on the cross, our response to Christ's love is the voluntary yielding of our will in recognition of who God is and all He has done - as a child before a loving parent.
This equal opportunity for God's favour was shown to the kings of Israel. After the people demanded a king, God chose Saul. He was a handsome, humble, a man head and shoulders taller than all others. David is described as a "man after God's own heart" whom God brought out of the sheepfold and set him on the throne of Israel. God then established the throne of Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. Finally (for the sake of this example), God revealed to the hard-working Jeroboam He would make him king over 10 tribes of Israel. What God promised to Saul, David, and Solomon He promised similarly to Jeroboam in 1 Kings 11:38: "Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you." If Jeroboam would be God's man, God would be with him and establish him. But if Jeroboam rejected the LORD as Saul and Solomon in their later years, God would strip the kingdom from him and his house.
God made a conditional promise to all of these kings, and only David - the man after God's own heart - continued following God faithfully. This shows us a royal bearing, great wisdom, and an industrious work ethic are not enough to keep our hearts from wandering from God. We must have transformed hearts after God's own through the power of the Holy Spirit to keep walking in God's ways, giving honour and glory to Him as is His just due. That is the prime distinction between David and the other three first mentioned: the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit of God was with David from his anointing by Samuel until the end of his days. This blessing and promise of the Father is not for kings or Jews only but even to all people from every nation under heaven. When God says "Be Mine!" and you gladly submit to this, He will be yours as long as you will have Him. Praise the LORD, for He delights to abide in us forever!
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