Ephesians 1:6 - He has made us accepted in the Beloved. (NKJV)

People, as well as creatures, have pecking orders. Not too long ago, we purchased a new budgie. When we first put Colby into the bird cage, the other three birds moved away from him. He wasn't one of the family. He was different. He didn't fit.

Colby inched over to the others, but for every inch he moved, they moved too -- in the opposite direction. After a couple of days, however, Snowy, one of the other three, decided to make friends with Colby. Before long, Sunny and Cordelle had also decided that if Snowy thought this new fellow was okay, so did they. Colby was finally accepted and is now a chirpy member of the quartet.

Lack of acceptance -- rejection -- makes our lives lonely and often painful. Everybody needs somebody. Everybody wants to be loved, accepted, and valued.

In today's Scripture verse, God refers to His Son as "the Beloved", a beautiful term of endearment; an endearment, however, which is not meant for Christ alone. As Christians, we are beloved by Jesus, who willingly laid down His life on Calvary that we might take up eternal life through belief in Him and the work He has accomplished.

Due to our acceptance by Christ, we also gain merit with God, not through anything we have done, but through what the Beloved has done for us. In Christ, God wholly loves and accepts us as His beloved children, which is a wonderful thought for each of us to cling to on Valentine's Day. Why? Because it means that no matter what our situation -- married, single, divorced, separated, widowed, widower, part of a family, or the last one left of our family and friends -- we can know that we still have a special Valentine Love, the love of God, our heavenly Father, who through the apostle Paul spoke these life-changing words of endearment for all who believe:

Romans 8:38-39 - I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)

Prayer: Father God, thank You that You are our Valentine each and every day. You are the one who loves us, in spite of ourselves, and who is always with us, no matter what our circumstances. Thank You that this Valentine's Day, all we need to do to discover just how much we are accepted, valued, and loved is to open Your Word and partake of Your truth. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

Lynne Phipps lynnephipps@hotmail.com
Atlin, British Columbia, Canada

Thanks to http://daily.presbycan.ca