Valentine's Day

As an author of romance, you will almost always see romance in my books. In fact, in all my books there is an element of romance. Where would we be if we didn't have the greatest sacrifice in the history of mankind? John the apostle wrote, that "God so love the world that He gave his only son that whomever shall believe in him, will have everlasting life (John 3:16 loosely translated). If you never heard of that, you might ask what Sacrifice is that? What God gave up? The answer to that is Jesus. The birth of Jesus came through both man and God. God sent his spirit into a virgin named Mary thus making Jesus the Son of God and the Son and man. Not only that, he lived  a pure and sinless life so that he could become the ultimate sacrifice.
In the days of the law, worshippers had to offer a pure and spotless lamb as a sacrifice to cleanse them from the sins. It was the blood of the lamb that did that and the priests initiated it. (The book of Hebrew talks more about this)  After Jesus's death, after he offered up his life in exchange for ours. Paul wrote that Jesus became sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God. Jesus didn't sin, but he took our sins for us on that cross. He took our place on the cross. This is God's love for us, but it didn't end there. Three days later he rose from the dead and later for only male or female who believes in who he is and confesses that he is Lord becomes a new person and accepts God's love and Son in our hearts.
Nowadays, people express love without God in their lives. God's love is sacrificial. It is also called Agape or unconditional love. I grew up with both: My mother showed me God's love while my father's love was conditional: "I love you if..."  God never loves like that. Paul wrote that nothing can separate us from the love of God.(Roman 8:38 and 39). While God will love us no matter what we will do or say, man will love based on condition. A husband  who is controlling could say. "If you love me, honey, you will do as I say and without question." Oh they will say it in different ways, but it is the same thing.
Christian romance author writes that kind of romance in their books. They show God's love through characters who have flaws just as we do. They go through a journey of they will to discover they worth the love of another person. In book 3 of my Second Chance Series, A Man For Beth, both the hero and heroine had bad experience with the opposite sex:

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She noticed him. Stan turned his attention back to the weights. He couldn’t allow another woman to break his heart.
“I think she likes you, Stan,” his friend Larry said.
“Me? We haven’t even met.” He picked up a 100-pound weight and lifted. “She probably thinks men are jerks.” And he didn’t blame her.  Although since becoming a Christian, he still needed an attitude adjustment. Did she know the Lord?
“No time like the present.  Go and introduce yourself.” Larry lifted 100-pound weights.
“I don’t want to scare her.” He had lost weight since his journey began six months ago. They could start out as friends, but he didn’t want her to think he was coming onto her. She may have had bad experiences with men.
He had one with a woman. Laura was a beautiful woman, but her heart was not.  She was ashamed to be in public with him. For the first two months, she seemed to accept him as he was—overweight. He thought she had a heart of gold until he overheard her talking to a friend on the phone.
“Stan won’t lose the weight. He told me that is who he was, and he acted real macho…Dump him...” she had paused. Did she suspect he was near? He quickly hid when she glanced around the room.
He fell on his knees and cried but straightened up. Real men don’t cry, his father had told him. They pray.
Stan’s father was a God-fearing man. He respected him, but after his father died, he lost hope in God. He walked away from God and the Catholic Church.
The woman dropped the weights she had used and wiped the sweat off her brow.
She had a hard life too.
Stan didn’t doubt she had a hard life. She reminded him of himself six months ago.
You could help her.
We can be friends.

 
Two               
As Beth and her mother finished working out, she took a deep breath. “That was hard.” She followed her mother to the changing room.
“But you did it! You made it through your first day! I’m proud of you.”
“I guess you want me to keep it up.”
“We both can.”
Beth stared past her mother. The two men were walking toward the lockers. Her heart raced. Oh God, please don’t let them talk to me! She wiped her sweaty palms on her leg and kept her eye on her locker.
He was there. Was his locker near hers? No! Through the smell of sweat, she detected a hint of Old Spice cologne. Did he come here to attract women? She eyed him. He looked amazing!
“Hi.” He cleared his throat. “Stan. And you are?” He closed his locker door.
Was he talking to me? She wanted to run, but her feet froze. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Over her shoulders, her mother smiled.
“Go ahead and say hi,” she whispered, coaxing her on.
“Nn…nice to meet you. Beth.”
“Beth? I love your name.”
Her heart fluttered, and she glanced away.
“Would it be okay if we can be friends?”
Friends? Yes. That would be good. She offered a small smile. “Sure.” Her heart wouldn’t slow down. He offered friendship, not a relationship. Get a grip, girl!

Everyone has flaws. Sometimes we have to love ourselves before we could love others. I my myself is not perfect, but I know that God loves me unconditionally. His love is shed abroad in my heart (Romans 5). When I am guided by his love, I have no fear because his perfected by his love.