Andrew: the forgotten Hero of New Testament

When I used to go movie on my childhood, I used to dream, one day I will be movie actor. But when I grew up, I started to change my mind because behind the silver screen too there is a Super Hero who directs the movie. Then I started to dream about being director. Because even the man who is not so handsome and smart can play vital role behind the screen.

Many times, we look the frontline characters, but forget the fact that behind them too there is some one who is leading them through one way or another. In New Testament, we look the frontline Stars like Peter and Paul who have great contribution for preaching and promotion of gospel, leading and planting the Churches in first century and writing the books of the Bible. But some times don’t pay much attention toward the characters who are not mentioned much on Scriptures.

Today, I would like to discuss briefly about a man, just an ordinary disciple Andrew, the Brother of Simon Peter, the hero behind of screen of New Testament. Two times, Andrew is mentioned in Bible, who represent the lay Christians and shows what we can do as our part in ministries.

I. Our First Encounter with Andrew

Andrew is mentioned only twice in the Bible. Our first encounter with Andrew on the Bible is as the Disciple of John the Baptist, “Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone” (John 1:35-42).

Andrew, an honest Jew, who was waiting for Messiah and because of his keen search for salvation through Christ, let him to John the Baptist. A man, who was waiting for the Anointed one of Jehovah, dedicated himself to teaching and ministries of John the Baptist. His keep passion toward salvation compelled him to follow John when he started his prophetic Ministries as the forerunner of Jesus Christ. Yet, we can understand that his eyes were toward the Messiah who comes to redeem his people.

Transformational Period:

When Andrew was standing with John, a man was walking away, as the Spirit of God moved on, John shouted, behold the Lamb of God. Andrew, without questioning just followed Jesus. Walked with Him, talked to Him and came to a conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah whom he is waiting for.

A man of simple faith, who didn’t run after the traditions and culture, who didn’t think about his Church’s teaching and doctrine, but when he knew the Truth, just simply follow it. There was no doubt in him, nor was he worried of what action his Church will take against him.

Many times, when we get truth, we can’t take right decision because we think about the traditional teaching of our Church or our denominational culture or our Theological doctrine. Many times because of our traditions or culture or doctrine, we forget the doctrine of God, the simple faith to be saved. And, our traditions or cultures or doctrines take us away from the truth, and blind our eye to see the beauty and glory of God our Father.


Witness for Christ:

When Andrew came into the knowledge of Truth, the second step he took is the witness for Christ. When he came to know Christ, he just went back to his own brother Simon and witnessed him about Jesus. As a born again believer, he couldn’t keep the good news of finding salvation on himself, but he shared to the one whom he loved, his own brother.

The real Christian life is to witness gospel. It is not because you will get paid for it, but because without Christ, our loved ones, our neighbors, our friends and families can’t go to heaven. Christ is the only way to heaven, and our duty is not to be selfish and keep this great gospel that saves our lives from hell on our heart itself, but to share to others too who are too in equal need like us.

II. Our Second Encounter with Andrew:

“When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten” (John 6:5-13).

Man who finds solutions in the problem:

Our second encounter with Andrew on the Bible is with the wise solution maker during the crises. When it was almost impossible to go and buy the bread for the crowd, Andrew brings small ray of home that there is still a boy who have some resources to share with. A wise decision on right time can help a lot. When the ways seem like closed, still there will be door of God, and Andrew is our perfect model of example in order to find the solution in order to co-operate with our leadership during the time of crises.

III Layman Christian; the Andrews of Modern Church

Here I would like to recall the story of sparrow during the wild fire. There were many birds on the jungle, but all of them flew away when wildfire spread on the jungle. But one small sparrow couldn’t forget the place where he was born and brought up. While everyone flew away, he started to wet his wings on the far river and shake drops of waters from his feathers on the fire. Some one, who was noticing it asked what difference does it makes in such a wild fire. The sparrow humbly replied, at least I am doing my part.

Many times, we may think what can we do as a lay man Christian in such a big country? Friends, at least we can do our part. We shouldn’t forget the fact that we all may not be Simon Peter, but the truth is, it was Andrew who introduced Christ to a Mass Crusader Simon Peter who leaded thousands into Christ. We shouldn’t forget the fact that it was Andrew, who solved the problem while entire Apostolic Team of Jesus was thinking about providing goods by giving the information about bread and fish which was there in their midst itself.

Friends, we all might not have called to be Simon Peter, but God wants even we lay Christians to be Andrew. God wants us to do what we can do for the Kingdom. God wants us to be the Andrew of Modern Church. Are you willing to raise up the spirit of Andrew in you?

How effective are cross-cultural missionary in 21st Century?

Mission of Christ to the lost world is primary duty of Christian Church. Telling a sinner about the salvation full and free in Christ Jesus is not just primary responsibility of Christians, but it is also an identity of a Christian. The revival of the Church is not the exciting worship they have, but it is the mind they have for the Mission to the lost Millions.

As Christ commanded in Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The primary duty of the Church is to witness in their neighborhood, and then state or nation and then to move toward the world. When a brand new congregation is planted, their primary focus need to be their neighborhood, then when they will impact their neighborhood, then the process need to be toward the nation and the nations of the world. If a Church congregation can’t witness to the man next door, we can understand that they have some short of spiritual illness in their Christian lives. This is one of the reason that some time’s mega church are limited today only with senior adults in the congregations, where as the leaders who understand this strategy that Christ commanded have multiplied into thousands and making worldwide impact in Christian Mission.

The Church Planting Movement is just like a river, it’s humble beginning can be just a spring or a falls on the mountains, it first waters the surrounding grounds and gradually starts to flow toward far down. As it keeps on continue, it multiplies on wide and ever on the water it contains. It keeps on flowing towards far down by watering barren land, fruitful land, jungles and plains till finding destiny, the ocean. On the same way, a Church planting movement starts with simple beginning of some handful people, move toward the perfection of Christ, witnessing sinners, teaching the saved, helping the poor, caring the widows and needy till the day of Christ when the Church will be rapture.

In order to fulfill this mission of Christ, the Missionaries in Past have done really great jobs. They have kept their lives on risk and taken the gospel to the cannibals of the mountains of Asia and Jungles of Africa. They have given their lives for Christ, suffered among the uncivilized, and shown them the light of gospel. No one can deny the role of Missionaries who led people in past from darkness to light, sin to salvation and primitive lifestyle to complete human civilization.

But, we need to understand that Christian Theology is progressive revelation, as the knowledge of the people growing, God is revealing more and more depth and mysteries of His word. This is exactly same even in Mission too. There was the time, when the people were uncivilized; God used western missionaries effectively on Asia and Africa. But today people have come into a level of civilization and growth, and we need to change our old prospective even in mission too.

Today, the western Churches need to change the traditional style of sending cross cultural missionary to the non-Christian nations, and spread supportive hands for reaching, teaching and mobilizing the native nationals to reach their own nations. Native nationals are much more effective in today’s context for various reasons. Moreover, we need to understand the fact that Jesus came to save men as a man, not as God. He took human birth, lived among us as one of us and reached us being what we are. God, who gave us His Son Jesus, has given us perfect model of Christian Mission too. But some times we are not trying to understand this fact that with difference we can’t reach the people.

Native missionaries are the people who are one among the unreached on their nations. Most of them will be converted Christian and just like others before they came to be saved. They are much better to reach their people there, not because the degree or education they have but because the transformed lives and experience they have. Our role here is to encourage them to reach their own people, train them and contribute them through our material blessing that God has given us.

This is the time for us to encourage the native missionaries and support them financially on their mission work, as for us, Lord has given us lost souls in our own neighborhood. Some times, we work hard in nations like India and Nigeria, but also we won’t be so effective like the native missionaries there, but forget the fact that USA itself is now turning as one of the most unreached nation. We forget the fact that Europe has less born again Christians then some of the nations in Asia and Africa. We are forgetting the fact that our Churches are turning empty while Korean Churches are getting more then 100 thousands believers each week to worship together.

This is the time for us to unite and strengthen our hands for supporting the native missionaries in Unreached Nations. This is the time for us to pray for the workers of Harvest of God who are laboring for God. And this is the time for us to witness our neighbor so that before we will return back to our home for eternity, we may see our neighborhood being back to God again. If you believe, and I believe and if we join together for prayer, we can change the nations for Christ. We can bring the sinner back to God and spread the revival through out the nations.

Reaching out to the unreached Diaspora Nepalese

Historical background

Nepal is known as the country of mountains, carrying the glory of Mount Everest as the highest pick in the world. It is one of the world’s least developed countries. In the most recent year, government spending equaled 17.3 percent of GDP. About 85% of the population lives from subsistence agriculture in rural areas, coping with great disparities of caste, gender, and geography. Poverty, unemployment, declining natural resources, and more recently the Maoist insurgency are major reasons why international labor migration is an increasingly important source of income. For younger people it is also a way to experience the wider world. International migration patterns are diverse. Labor migration is found throughout Nepal, but the majority of migrants are from the western and far western Mid-Hills. The major destination, for about 77% of the migrants, is India. Because migration to India has a long history and Nepalese and Indians cross the border freely, migration between India and Nepal is largely undocumented. There are an estimated 1.3 to 3 million Nepalese in India, 2 to 5 times higher than official statistics show. The Gulf States have become another important destination since the 1990s. Migration to these countries or to other Asian and European countries requires resources far beyond the means of most migrants. They lack education, information about recruiting procedures, and the financial means to contract recruiting

Migration History

Nepal has a long history of foreign employment in India, dating back to the beginning of the 19th century, when men from the hill areas of what was then known as Gurkha migrated westwards to the city of Lahore in the northern region of Punjab. There they joined up as soldiers in the army of the Sikh Rajah, Ranjit Singh. Even today, those working abroad are popularly known as "lahures." During the 1920s and 1930s in particular, there was a significant increase in the number of Nepali men and women working in India. During the 1920s and 1930s in particular, there was a significant increase in the number of Nepali men and women working in India.
According to research done by the Nepal Institute for Development Studies — the first systematic look at Nepali foreign labor migration — as many as 750,000 men and women were working in India's private sector. Most were engaged in manual labor jobs in industry, construction work, agriculture, or the service sector. Their wages tended to be low and the work was often dirty, dangerous, and even degrading. For example, some 100,000 to 150,000 Nepali women are estimated (by many sources, but with little empirical evidence) to be employed in the sex industry across India. The majority of women migrant workers beyond India were in two countries — Hong Kong (44 percent) and Japan (9 percent) — with 56.5 percent in East and Southeast Asia. The remainder were in the UK (12 percent), the US (9 percent), Australia (6 percent), Bahrain (4 percent), and other countries. Most of them were working as domestics or in other areas of the service sector. In February 2001, the Malaysian government officially "opened" its labor market to Nepali workers. Within six months, over 12,000 labor migrants had left for Malaysia, and a year later Malaysia was hosting some 85,000 Nepali migrant workers. By August 2001, 87 percent of officially registered migrant workers (those recruited by recognized manpower agencies) were headed for the Gulf. An analysis of Nepali migrant workers in 2002 — by the Nepal Institute for Development Studies for UNIFEM, the women's fund at the United Nations — revealed that two-thirds of Nepalese working overseas were employed in the Gulf, mainly in Saudi Arabia (42 percent), Qatar (11.5 percent), and the UAE (nine percent). The total was estimated at 465,000 — 10 times more than in 1997.

Key problems of Migrants

a. Girls trafficking

Some figures refer only to women and girls trafficked into the sex industry. These include estimates that between 100,000 to 200,000 Nepali women are working in the Indian Sex industry, and that between 5000 and 8000 young women are trafficked for prostitution into India each year. Many figures are prone to exaggeration. For example, one report notes that the “majority of the 40,000 prostitutes in Sonagachi (a red light area in Calcutta) are Nepali. It is extremely difficult to estimate the number of Nepalese women and children who have been trafficked. The difficulties arise partly because of a lack of reliable research in this area.

Nepali women and children victims who are working in different parts of India.

Bombay 45,000
Calcutta 36,000
Gorakhpur 04,000
Pune 03,000
Patna 04,000
Lucknow 02,500
Madras 03,500
Surat 01,500
Others 26,000

Source: Informal Estimation, CWIN Nepal, 2002.*

b. Education

Research shows that migrants Nepalese are forced to work abroad in low scale salaries though government passed the mandate for minimum level of salary scale. Because of the lack of education they are easily being cheated and driven away BY others. That made them to find the job mostly in Chaukidar ( security guard) or in Chinese fast food. Though they have got full right to join their children in Indian government school as per the 1950s treaties between India and Nepal but they are deprived to so because of the lack of education. They are often denied their basic legal rights and are vulnerable to labor rights violations and various forms of exploitation.

c. Social awareness

Social awareness is another key area where migrants’ people need to be awakening. Thousands and thousands Nepalese girls are sold in Indian brothel. Nepal government ignores to control this alarming issues rather Nepal seems busy in political reformation which looks ultimate joke to the Nepal. Friends! We need the food not the plate! We need water, not a flask! We need houses, not a palace! We need basic things, not the political reformation with modifying and debating constitution.

Church and mission

I keep on writing over this issue! And once again I want to emphasize about the Churches’ role in present context. Evangelism should not be exclusive in nature. We should think about the people, society and nation. Jesus considered people much beyond than our expectation. Each and every individual were important in sight of God, Be it a Samaritan woman, or a single leper! Neglecting our society and people is making us exclusive Pharisees of this world. Nepali church is mature enough to think and dealing with the issue. My point here is not to criticize over being migration from Nepal but how people are being looked down, brutally used in brothel, forced to work in low scale salaries in gulf world and the rest of the World.
The task seems to be challenging for the Nepali churches. The role of the some of the organization in Delhi has played as an excellent job in the upliftment Nepali migrants. Church should take this responsibility seriously and it is the church which plays the key factor for bringing changes in society. So, Nepali church should think over mission with an open mind. So far we were expecting the missionaries to come and help us here! The scenario has changed now! Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.. Matthew 28:19. We need to send missionaries to every corner to reach out to the Nepalese at large. The mission can’t move further unless we go hand in hand with the local church. I would like to motivate Nepali Churches to carry the missions in their respective areas. Somewhere it may be needed to steer the churches. Christian organization will play the important role to bring the changes in society.

Sources

The Nepal Institute for Development Studies (2003). "Nepali Women Workers in Foreign Lands: a study conducted for UNIFEM." Kathmandu, July.

Seddon, David, Jagannath Adhikari and Ganesh Gurung (2000). "Foreign labor migration and the remittance economy of Nepal: A Report to DFID, Kathmandu." Overseas Development Group, University of East Anglia, Norwich.

Seddon, David, Jagannath Adhikari and Ganesh Gurung (2001). "The New Lahures: foreign employment and the remittance economy of Nepal." The Nepal Institute of Development Studies, Kathmandu.

Fr. Fulgentius Vannini, Christian settlements in Nepal during the eighteenth century, Stylish printing press, New Delhi, 1977

Perry Cindy, A biographical History of the Church in Nepal, Wheaton, Illinois, 1989.

This article is adopted from Nepal Church dot com a Nepali Christian website and the you can read it in http://nepalchurch.com/content/view/204/

The worldly practice in the Church of Living God.

Few weeks back, I was joining one retired generations' Church in Northern Virginia in order to get place for Ethnic Harvest, suddenly on the meeting; one old lady expressed her fear, if they allow their Church to use for the purpose of Ethnic Ministries, some day the ethnic congregations may grow stronger and larger then the decreasing main Congregation. And the time will come the members of ethnic ministries can vote some times even on the issue which main congregation of the Building don't like.
Today, this is the problem with most of the Congregational Churches in world that they are always unsecured because they think that, at any time others can vote on what they don’t like, or others can grow stronger majority then them. It is the problem because our faith is not rooted in the word of God, because the word of God clearly says us that, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (II Tim.1:7).
Here, the questions comes, why Congregationalist feels unsecured when the work of God multiplies? Why many Christians are not open toward the New Converts who are coming to their Congregations in order to worship God in fellowship with them? It is just simply because their faith and practice is not based in the word of God.

Does Bible Support for the Congregations’ vote for Leaders?

Jethro, Moses’ father in law (on Exodus Chapter 18:12ff) suggested Moses to appoint the leaders of the people, so that they can work for assisting people in their problems, while as Moses can continue on the mission that God has given to him. On this first example of appointing large mass leaders on Bible, we don’t see people casting their ballets in order to appoint the leaders whom they like.
Jesus called his twelve Apostles and personally he had chosen them. He didn’t ask for the congregations in order to vote whom they like. Apostle Paul writes to Titus with an authority to appoint the Leaders for the Congregations in Crete, “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee” (Tit.1:5).
God calls the leaders, God elects and anoints the leaders and either congregation vote him to keep or to kick out, but still the anointing of God remains in him. The anointing and calling of God doesn’t depend in the vote of the congregation.

Does Bible Support Democratic Practice in Church?

Rather then God as their King, it is people who demanded Saul to be their King. It was not perfect will of God but in permissive will God appointed a King for Israelites. Many times when people goes away from His word, God lets them to go after their own will and leaves them on their free will because He doesn’t want men to use as machine but wants them to act them in their own free will.
Through out the early days, People are always making their own ways for their own convinces. But whenever they tried to make the easy way, they are always proven wrong and God always right. Majority worshipped the golden calf when Moses was on the Top of Mount Sinai, but the small minority of honest believers were right on the sight of Lord.
Majority were bowing down to Baal, but Elijah and small minority who strongly believed that Jehovah is the only True and Living God where right.
Majority were shouting Jesus to hang on the cross, but the small minority who trusted Jesus to be Son of God where right in fact.
It doesn’t matter how large group are joined together for casting their vote, but the main importance is whether they are right or not. Democracy in the Bible many times is used by the power of darkness in order to destroy the Church of Almighty.

The True Biblical Church Government:

If we read in the Bible, the word of God clearly says that in order to solve our headache to vote the leadership, Jesus himself has given leadership for the Church, “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephi. 4:10-13).
Jesus has already given the five fold ministries of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. But as the Church congregations, we are just saying no God, we want our own leadership of President or General Secretary or Treasurers and though we are claiming to be Christians our faith is not based in the word of God.
This is the time for us, whom to we follow, the world or God? Whom do we follow the President that world is electing inside the Church of Living God, or Apostle whom God Himself has appointed for the edification of the Church?
Let us build our faith in Word of God and declare boldly, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (II Tim.1:7).

Where Western Christianity is going?

I was checking a tube video in youtube. There I saw a video about some comments on North America’s Mega Church Pastors and worldwide known Christians Evangelists. I saw the comments like they are serving not God, but power of darkness (I don’t want to use words like demons or satan directly here). It is for sure that when some one gets success in any area, alone with his supporter there comes many criticizers too. But it is sad to know that the people with the spirit of Sadducees and Pharisees criticizing the people of God who are leading Millions into Christ each year around the world.
As a minister of Gospel from third world, I see two main problems in Western Christianity. First, the Ministers here are very much professional and many of them have applied for wrong job as Religious leaders, and second Religious Denominations are running after securing their tithes and offerings by pleasing the members who are attending their religion for generations. Even in the midst of such look warmness, God has raised some ministers who can boldly stand and proclaim “thus says the Lord”. And, the people who claim themselves Christians are running after them like Religious leaders were running after Jesus during his earthly ministries.
It is very easy to find fault of some one, even of a minister of the gospel, because we all are human being. But does it really meet our spiritual need in the spiritual vacuum that Christless mainline western Christianity is creating? As for my personal understanding definitely not, because the vacuum that Christless Christianity has created, only Christ can fill it. And, rather then trying to understanding Christ, it is surely not wise decision to create Godless godliness in our heart.
I know one UK based scholar who claim that Pastor of a Mega Church in East has build one of the largest Churches of world on False Healing. But I have seen there many people who are turning back to God after roaming around the philosophy and Dharma of East and knowing the fact that there is no salvation anywhere else then Jesus the son of God. Unfortunately people from such a Scholar’s own nation (some times even from his own Church) are rejecting Christian religion and roaming around the temples and mosques of East in order to find salvation and peace in their mind.
The point here is the misunderstanding of many Pastors and Ministers that there is no salvation anywhere then Christianity. In fact there is no salvation in any religion, and not even in Christian Religion. Jonah the godly prophet was in same dilemma, he was thinking that there is salvation in Judaism only. His understanding was the salvation is only belongs to Jews, but when he was in the bally of Fish he understood the greatest Truth and accepted this fact “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD” (Jon. 2:9).
This is same fact that today Western Christianity has to know. Salvation is of the Lord and everyone who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior are saved. If God Himself declares in His word “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1: 12, 13). In order to get salvation, one need to have personal relationship with Jesus, it doesn’t matter how long we are going to Church and how many generation we are Christian, but unless we have personal relationship with Jesus, we are yet not saved.
Or let me tell you in very simple way, unless we have personal encounter with Jesus in some point of our life and come into the realization that Jesus and only Jesus is the way to salvation, it doesn’t matter how active we are in our denominations, or how big amount we give donation to our denominations doesn’t make any sense. The first and foremost thing is we need to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Unless, we will be so godly and so zealous towards the Christianity, but we can’t see the brightness of Christ in our own life and just be the stumbling blocks on the work of God.
Prophet Hosea has a prophetic word for us, “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth” (Hos. 6:3)

Heavenly Valentine

Some weeks back, I was reading one online news portal to understanding what is going on in my nation, I saw the headline of a murder. It was really interesting headline because a lady was murdered for love. One side love of a man and continue denial of lady led man to kill her for love because he was unable to get her.

Seasons comes with some excitement in lives, and goes with some short of impact directly or indirectly in our lives. As the days are passing Valentine is with us and many of us has different plans and programs to convey the love message to our girlfriend, boyfriend and many of us to husband and wife. Let us forget about the beginning of this day, and focus now in love and love only.
Generally in wider understood way, love means a feeling or emotion of one's heart which depends in same short of reaction from other too. But in this valentine we shouldn't miss an opportunity to know about a love which was not depended in this type of reaction. A selfless love which was demonstrated for you. A time less love which was shown towards you and entire humanity. Even in our infirmities, even in our unworthiness, even in our sinfulness.

Apostle Paul writes about this selfless love on his second letter to the believers of God in Corinth "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (II Cor. 8:9). Apostle John also indicates about the greatest love in his Gospel "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (Jn 3:16).
As human, we want some one to love us back when we love them. But we can see here a love which never forced us to love back, some times even while we were running away from this love. As human we know when some one whom we love turns away from us, our heart pains, but we never think it seriously how much pain we are giving each day to God our creator through our action to run away from Him. Still, our God is silent and waiting us to be back to Him. This is same fact Prophet Jeremiah understood after the destruction of Jerusalem. When God sent His wrath to wicked Judah and they were taken captive into the foreign land of Idol worshipers, at this time also the love of God was not reduced for that ungodly generation. The prophetic word of God came to Jeremiah regarding his everlasting love to Judah, "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee" (Jer. 31:3).
In this world, love kills, love gives pain, love requires to love back, but there is a God who loves His children without selfless and with an everlasting Love. God didn't love you by seeing some extra-ordinary abilities in you, or talents in you, or your outward prettiness, but his unconditional love toward you is because you are his creation. It is just because God created you with love in his own image and likeness.
Today, God is calling you to be his valentine. He is calling you into His selfless Love. And just through your faith in Jesus Christ you can be again into love with God the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
In this valentine, are you willing to be back to the relationship with God?