This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:10-11
 
I wonder how you feel as we move into a new month. February is often referred to as the month of love, but many of us find it a difficult time as it also represents the ongoing cycle of all that is irksome about winter: continuing cold weather, depressing grey skies, absence of daylight and long hours of darkness. It may be that you jumped into January with an aura of positivity, looking forward to fresh starts and a ‘new you’, but as February dawns these have perhaps fallen by the wayside, and you feel disheartened.

For others, the signs of approaching Spring and the celebration of Valentine’s Day, herald a bright interlude in the gloom, and can be a reminder that February has more to offer than greyness: it is also a reminder to cherish, celebrate and encourage connection with one another.

Valentine’s Day entices us with the idea of love; of loving and being loved in return, a fundamental need for every one of us. There will be those who struggle with this notion: perhaps those who feel on the fringes, excluded, neglected or alone, but Valentine’s Day should be more than this. It should remind us that every day is a day for forging and building relationships, for showing care and compassion to those we meet, for welcoming the stranger, for practising hospitality, for embracing and including those we might otherwise turn aside from.   

Because however loving we may or may not feel towards others, we can be assured that “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us” (St. Augustine).

The Bible tells us that God is love and we are made in his image, so loving one another should be part of our DNA. We are called to share that love with those we meet. How can we begin to do that? I would encourage you this month to begin by noticing others; to recognise their presence; to take time to smile and say hello. These small things will begin to spread love and forge positive connections in our community for the benefit of everyone. 

And may you know the blessing of God upon you.

Diana Parr
Pastor
Great Shelford Free Church