This year, Lent starts on Valentine’s Day. While most of us wouldn’t see this as anything significant, it can serve as a reminder of where our hearts truly lie. Are our hearts adored with Jesus or the things of this world? Sadly, many forget our first love and follow after the world or a person instead of Jesus.
There is nothing wrong with finding love in this world; however, we mustn’t forsake our first love—Jesus. Jesus is the One who died for our sins and gives us eternal life (John 3:16-17). We owe Him our eternal praise, worship, and love. Since Lent starts on Valentine’s Day this year, we can use it as a reminder to redirect our focus back to Jesus. Instead of being caught up in the modern practices of Valentine’s Day, we can be reminded of our One true love.
Lent is the forty days leading up to Easter, also known as Resurrection Sunday. It is a beautiful time, as many of us use it to redirect our focus on Jesus. Many people give up various things during this time to better focus on Jesus. Some people fast from food; however, most of us would find it more beneficial to fast from something distracting us from the Lord. It could be social media, toxic family members, or unnecessary shopping trips.
Since Valentine’s Day falls on the first day of Lent this year, one could even try to give up the standard practices of Valentine’s Day to reflect more on Jesus and spend time with Him. Whether you are married or not, you can use Valentine’s Day to spend some quality time with God in Bible reading and prayer. Your spouse can join in, too, and spend their own time with the Lord. Valentine's typically focuses on romantic love, but this year, you can specifically focus on your love for God.
We can see where our hearts truly lie through the significance of the overlap between Lent and Valentine’s. Here are five ways to tell where your heart’s focus truly is this year.
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1. Love for God > Love for Others
Jesus tells us plainly:
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” - Matthew 10:37
As the Lord tells us in this passage, anyone who loves someone else more than Him is not worthy of Him. While this passage does not mean we should hate our family, friends, or spouse, it does mean that we should love God more than anyone or anything else.
Anything or anyone that we set above God becomes an idol for us. It can be our own spouse or significant other. We tend to focus on our spouse or significant other during Valentine's Day. Sadly, not many of us think about God when celebrating Valentine’s Day. We see Christmas and Easter as God’s holidays, but the others are “flexible.” What can we say then when the festive season of Lent overlaps with the holiday of Valentine's?
As mentioned above, there is nothing wrong with loving your spouse, but there is something wrong if you love them more than God. Your spouse may be amazing, but they cannot save you. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can save you (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the One who left Heaven to save you, your spouse, and everyone else in the entire world. He is more than worthy of all of our love. Truly ask yourself where your heart’s focus is this Lent season and see if it lies with the Lord.
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2. Is God Your Top Priority?
A second way to see where the focus of your heart is this season of Lent and Valentine’s is to ask yourself if God is your top priority. Is God your top priority, or is it pleasing your spouse or significant other? Maybe you are not married, and you are just dating right now. If this is true, ask yourself who you are more concerned about winning approval—your Valentine’s Day date or God? If we are honest with ourselves, we might focus more on the former than the latter. It is best to be honest rather than to lie to ourselves because it will only distance us further from God.
Even if you are unmarried and not dating anyone this Valentine’s, you might be searching for Mr. Right or Ms. Right. It is important to remember at these times that God does not promise anyone a spouse or an unbreakable bond with another human during this life. What He does promise us is Him, and this is more than enough. Marriage, dating, and relationships do not endure forever, but God does.
He loves us more than anyone. The love He has for us is known as agape love. There is no greater love than the love He has for us. God is the exact embodiment of love, as the Apostle John says:
“Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love.” 1 John 4:8
God is love; therefore, we can trust in the knowledge that He will always stay with us. Our loved ones will leave, and many will pass before us, but the Lord will always be with us.
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3. Would You Rather Spend Valentine’s Day with God or Your Significant Other?
A third way to gauge the focus of your heart this Lent and Valentine’s season is to answer whether you would rather spend Valentine’s Day with God or your significant other. The answer applies to Valentine’s Day within this context, but we can also use it for any day of the year. Would we rather spend a free day with God in Bible reading, prayer, and worship or spend it with our spouse, significant other, girlfriend, or boyfriend? Yet again, there is nothing wrong with spending time with our loved ones, but when we are gauging the focus of our hearts, we need to try to get them geared towards God.
If you answer this question by wanting to spend Valentine’s Day with your partner rather than God, know it is good to be honest. Most people who are in relationships would answer in this way. Now that you have gauged where the focus of your heart is this year ask yourself how you can redirect your heart to God. What steps can you take to get your heart on fire for the Lord again?
Carve out time in your day to spend time with God or start a new devotional. Sometimes, it’s simply crying out to God in your car after a long day. Lent is all about redirecting our focus on God—maybe Valentine’s Day overlapping with Lent will be the perfect excuse to refocus on God. Instead of having a romantic getaway, consider a prayer room getaway.
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4. Giving Up Romantic Love for God’s Love?
Moreover, this leads us to the next question to gauge the focus of our hearts. Would we be willing to give up romantic love for God’s love? From what we read in the Bible, there will be no marriage in Heaven, for we will be like the angels (Mark 12:25). Even though romantic relationships will not endure, our relationship with God will. Since this is true, it would be best to be intentional and spend more time with the Lord. Rather than always pursuing or seeking our romantic love, as many do on Valentine’s, we need to rest in God’s love.
If you have been in a relationship or are currently in one, you are probably familiar with how your love for your partner can sometimes change. Maybe they said something that hurt your feelings or forgot something important to you. Our feelings for our partner will inevitably go up and down throughout our lives. However, the love God has for us is constant.
The Lord loves us the same as He did yesterday and will love us the same a million years from now. One day, all romantic love will cease. There will no longer be the beautiful connection of a husband and a wife. But we know God’s will is good. Therefore, taking time, slowing down, and focusing on God’s love is good. Through Valentine’s Day overlapping with Lent, we can start to embrace the love of God, which is far greater than the love between any two people.
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5. Am I Desiring God Above All Else?
Lastly, we can see where the focus of our heart is this year by answering whether we are genuinely desiring God above all else. If someone were to ask you today, “Who do you love more: your God, your spouse, your friends, or your career?” What would you say? Unfortunately, many of us find ourselves in a place where we are not desiring God above all else. The focus of our hearts during Valentine’s Day, Lent, and every other day of the year should be found in Christ, yet so many of us are trying to fill the void with other things.
People, partners, friends, careers, money, vacations, or hobbies cannot fill the void we have for Christ. We might think we desire power, prestige, and wealth, but what we all desire is God and to know Him better. God is the One who created us, and we all inwardly desire to grow to become more like Him. How can we do this if we always try to fill our hunger for Him with other things? We have to go to the source to fulfill our desire—we have to go to God.
What do you desire this Lent and Valentine’s Day season? Is it truly the Lord, or is it something else? What do you think about lying down at night? Where does your heart take you? If you have found it doesn’t take you to God, maybe it is time to redirect the focus of your heart. Throughout this season of Lent, dedicate your time and energy to spending more time with the Lord. Be intentional to include Him in your day, and then you will find that the focus of your heart will indeed be found in Him.
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Originally published Wednesday, 17 January 2024.