God’s Word teaches us that love goes beyond feelings, which can come and go. Instead, God’s love is based on a steadfast attitude of servanthood and self-sacrifice for another person.

There are a lot of expectations for Valentine’s Day. Someone, probably a Hallmark employee, decided that February 14th would be the day to declare and demonstrate your love to that special someone. But what gets lost in finding the perfect card or gift is the very essence of what love is and how we can best share that with those around us.

Are we being an example of the person God calls us to be? Are we being an example of Jesus? Or are we being hypocrites?

The parable of the prodigal son has something for each of us. Some of us are the prodigals. We’ve wandered far from home, far from our father, and far from our true calling. The here and now got the better of us and we recklessly pursued the pleasures of this world. But when the emptiness of it all sinks in, we’ve found ourselves completely alone at the end of a dead end street. Without options, we swallow our pride and prepare our hearts to go back to our father’s house.

As a new year begins, it's a great opportunity to step back and reflect on who Jesus is and what He has called us to do. It's so easy to get wrapped up in our own lives that we fail to notice people around us who are struggling. Look. Listen. Ask God how you can be used by Him in the lives of hurting people.

As last year’s calendar is put away and a new one put in its place, we anticipate all that the coming months will bring. With a fresh start, we plan to make up for what we didn’t do so well last year and set new goals and resolutions to make this year better than last. While it’s always helpful to have goals, you don’t have to wait a full year to start over. If this year’s resolutions fall flat, don’t wait until next January to renew them. With God, you have a new beginning every day.

We live in the abundance of God’s grace and mercy every day. What better way to celebrate the coming of the Savior than to let His light shine through us in the same way?

Seeing isn’t always believing. We can get so caught up with life that we don’t stop and reflect on the ways God is moving. We brush things off or use our finite reasoning skills to explain away the miraculous. And yet we miss so much when we judge our circumstances too quickly. Assuming God isn’t going to show up, we don’t look for him.