The Joy of The Journey: Be Mine

The Joy of The Journey

Be Mine

It was a cold February morning at Cloverleaf Elementary  School as students in Mrs. Bear’s third-grade class began taking plain, ordinary shoeboxes and transforming them into decorative mailboxes to hold Valentine cards from our class members. Oh, the excitement and dread. Would someone dare declare their hidden crush to me? What would I do if they did? Oh, the anticipation and fear.

Well, I never received that hidden revelation of true love in third grade. That invitation from someone who asked, “Would you be my Valentine?” But you know, I received an invitation from Jesus a few months later. I was saved that summer after third grade.

While my construction paper heart-covered cardboard mailbox may not have held a secret admirer’s confession, my heart soon held something far greater…an invitation from the Creator of the universe. Not a playground crush. Not a temporary affection. But a divine call: Be Mine.

Valentine’s Day is built on the language of love, cards, candy, roses, and handwritten notes that whisper, “You are wanted.” Yet long before Hallmark printed its first card, love was God’s idea. Scripture tells us plainly, “We love because he first loved us” 1 John 4:19.  Love did not originate in human emotion; it began in the heart of God.  That’s right, love was God’s idea.

When Jesus extended His invitation to me that summer, it wasn’t wrapped in glitter or sealed with chocolate. It was written in conviction, grace, and mercy. The Bible says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8.  That is heaven’s version of “Be My Valentine.” It is love that moves first. Love that sacrifices. Love that redeems.

In school, you hoped someone would notice you. With God, there is no guessing game. He already sees you. He already knows you. The psalmist declares, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me!” Psalms 139:1.  The invitation to be His is deeply personal. He is not sending a mass-produced card to humanity; He is calling individuals by name.

God’s invitation is not simply about a moment of salvation; it is about a lifetime of relationship. Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you” John 15:4. To abide means to remain, to dwell, to stay close. Earthly valentines may last a season, but His love is steadfast. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end” Lamentations 3:22.

There is something powerful about being chosen. In third grade, popularity could determine how full your box became. But in Christ, our worth is not measured by how many affirm us. Scripture reminds us, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise” 1 Corinthians 1:27. To belong to Him is not about our performance; it is about His grace.

The enemy whispers rejection. God speaks adoption. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” 1 John 3:1. That is not a temporary title. That is covenant language. That is belonging.

When Jesus says, “Be Mine,” He is not asking for a seasonal romance. He is inviting us into covenant love, sealed by His blood and sustained by His Spirit. He calls us not only to receive His love but to walk in it daily. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” Matthew 22:37. Love is not passive; it responds.

That summer after third grade, I said yes to His invitation. I did not fully understand theology or covenant love. I only knew that Jesus loved me and wanted me. And that was enough.

Every February, when hearts and roses fill the stores, I am reminded that long before anyone asked, “Will you be my Valentine?” Heaven had already declared, “Be Mine.” And unlike the fleeting notes of childhood, His invitation still stands.

The question is not whether He has asked. He has. The question is how we will respond.