I know you will breathe a sigh of relief when I tell you that conversation hearts are back! You missed them, didn’t you? You remember those chalky, pastel candied memos that harken back to our childhoods. If you didn’t notice, they were gone from 2018-2020, but prior to this hiatus they were our most tiny edible valentine messages that read something along the lines of "Be mine," “Smile,” and "Hug me." The 2022 “new and improved” versions have you wondering if you’ll get an inspiring message such as: "Youda best," "Text me," and "High five" or one more sarcastic like, “You wish,” “You’ll do,” or even “Ew.”
With Valentine’s Day approaching, it’s got me thinking, if Jesus was passing out conversation hearts, what would they say?
We kinda know with Christmas and Easter how to look for redemptive opportunities to show and share the meaning of the incarnation and resurrection to our neighbors. But what about Valentine’s Day? On a day that celebrates the heart ad nauseam
, do we stop and think about God’s love and heart toward us… toward our neighbors?
In Dane Ortlund’s book Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers, he writes:
“Only as we drink down the kindness of the heart of Christ will we leave in our wake, everywhere we go, the aroma of heaven, and die one day having startled the world with glimpses of a divine kindness too great to be boxed in by what we deserve (p.22).”
Too bad we can’t give our neighbors conversation hearts that say, “Gentle,” “Lowly,” “Open Arms,” or “Just as You Are.” Oh wait… maybe we can.