Valentine's Day and Heart Balloons

When I was in high school, I typically dreaded Valentine’s Day because I wasn't dating anyone. To make matters worse, one of the high school clubs decided to capitalize on the holiday by selling heart-shaped, helium balloons. The morning of Valentine’s Day these large balloons were distributed in homeroom along with a note from the giver. The receivers carried their helium hearts around with them all day to let everyone in school know that they were loved.

One Valentine’s Day, much to my surprise, I received a balloon as well. Shocked, I immediately looked at the card and saw it was from my father who was a math teacher at the school. A classmate (who sometimes bullied me) stared at my balloon, obviously wondering who in the world had bought a balloon for someone like me. I answered his unspoken question, “It’s from my dad.”

He turned away from me with a look of disgust that said, “Oh, that explains it. No one else would have bought you one.” And with that look, my dad’s gift of love suddenly meant nothing, because it didn't come from a boy and, of course, no boy would ever choose to love me, right?

Sadly, I’ll admit that’s often how I’ve viewed God. Sure God loves me, but He has to, doesn’t He? And like the balloon from my dad, God’s love doesn’t feel as important as the love from a romantic partner who CHOSE me. Then I am reminded of Ephesians 1:5. The New Living Translation puts it this way: “God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.” He “decided in advance” to choose us. If we are His children, forgiven because of Jesus and heirs of the Kingdom, that’s only because HE chose us.

Looking back, I’m deeply touched by my dad’s gift of that Valentine’s Day balloon, and I’m grateful now for the lesson it taught me about being chosen.

So on this Valentine’s Day, whether you’re single or married; happy or filled with sadness, if you are God’s child it’s because you were chosen. You were chosen by the One who made the universe, and every clear night He gives us a breathtaking display of the stars and planets. That’s better than one helium balloon. You were chosen by the One who made every flower imaginable using every color in the rainbow. That’s better than one bouquet from the local florist. You were picked by the One who knows the very worst about you and yet He has chosen you to be part of His family anyway. What an amazing truth! You, my friend, have been chosen and you are forever loved!