The Original Valentine

2.13.2010

Leviticus 20:26 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. ESV

Although I am a fool for chocolate, some of my favorite Valentine’s candy is the 'conversation' hearts. You know the ones, the kind of a chalky candy shaped like a heart with a two word message imprinted on it– like Be Mine.

In the last few days our reading through Leviticus seems to hover around the topic of being; specifically being holy. The world culture back then was as bad as it is now and God was urging His people to be different; to be holy. Holy is a word that loosely translates, other or different. God called and still calls His people to be different from the peoples around them; that is the distinctiveness that makes godliness attractive – it isn’t status quo.

The Valentine’s message is be mine – find me attractive and let me be yours – alone. I think that’s what God was teaching and asking of His people – they’d never experienced a God like that before. And if there was anything they could do, it was this: “…be holy… for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.”

Father in Heaven,

You are holy and wholly different. You still call Your people to be holy and wholly different from the culture around us. I ask today for an upgrade in my appreciation and experience of holiness, and pray that You use me to share the message of Difference with those around me; may I be used to show Your attractiveness – I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.