Today is Valentine’s Day. Our two youngest children, Zack and Katie, exchange Valentines cards with their classmates. Last year, as I helped them sort through the candy and cards, I came across the ever-popular little candy heart bearing the words “Be Mine.” It got me thinking about the most unlikely Valentine in the world. Do you know who it is? It’s you . . . and me . . . along with everyone who has been set apart by faith to be a member of the bride of Christ. Jesus said “Be Mine” on the day saved you, and He is still saying that to you today.
So . . . how are you responding to the heart’s cry of Christ? Far too many of us mail it in, responding with what I call “leftover Christianity.” That is, we do not give the One who gave us His best our best. We give Jesus what is left over after we have taken good care of ourselves first. We meet our needs and satisfy our desires first, and then we give Jesus our leftovers: what is left over from our time . . . what is left over from our talent . . . and what is left over from our treasure.
Let me hit you with a harsher word for “leftover” Christianity: idolatry.
Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord. (Jonah 2:8-9 NIV)
My friend and pastor, Tullian Tchividjian, took us on a marvelous study of Jonah in a sermon series last year, which he later condensed into a fabulous book, Surprised By Grace. When you read the book, you’ll see that Jonah didn’t even want to give God his leftovers! He wanted nothing to do with God’s plan for his life . . . until God introduced Jonah to a fish named Grace. It was grace that swallowed up Jonah for three days, so that he could come to his senses and follow God’s plan for his life.
I want to emphasize that the grace that we forfeit when we cling to worthless idols is not saving grace. Once we are His we are always His, no matter what we do; that is the good news of the Gospel. What we forfeit when we turn our hearts away from God is the abundant and overwhelmingly rich experience of His daily grace in our lives. When we love anything smaller than God, our experience of His grace shrinks down to the size of whatever it is we are loving. At this level of living, we don’t sense the richness of His pleasure, the satisfaction of His purpose, and the power of His passion.
Yet in spite of all the times we turn away from God, He still calls out to us “Be Mine!” This is a love that is hard to comprehend. This is a love that sent Jesus to the cross to pay for our sins. This is a love that can never be taken away . . . that will never be taken away! This is a love that is unconditional, unwavering, unmatched, and unimaginable.
So how will you respond to the greatest Valentine the world has ever seen? Where in your life is God calling you to leave your worthless idols and return to Him? I exhort you to let His “Be Mine” be the number one priority in your life.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 