— Jeremiah 29:13

During the month of February red, pink, and white colors flood our senses while valentines, roses, and chocolates are steadily being offered as tokens of love to be shared with those we care about. But overshadowing all of these as the true “trademark” of February is the beautiful shape that symbolizes love … the heart. The graceful shape of the heart is ever present at stores, in advertisements, and … well nearly everywhere we go. Throughout this month the heart fills our vision and our imagination.

While the fond thoughts of sweet love reflected by the heart-shape is what sells valentines and creates poetry, the heart of man often shows itself to be infinitely more complex and often far less graceful than the symbolic hearts which surround us this time of year.

Just as man’s physical heart determines whether he is alive, so too his heart, the very soul of man, determines whether his life with Christ remains alive. As we walk in days filled and flooded with symbolic hearts, the question for all of us to examine is: Are our hearts truly set upon the living God? As the longing, loving Bride of Christ, do we have both a devotion to Jesus and a passion for Him?

It is not sufficient to drudgingly go about our duty as Christian workers. The life of the Bride of Christ is far more than reading the Bible, worshiping the Lord, and spending some time in prayer. It is a life of devotion to Jesus where we read His Word with a heart for devotional dialogue with our great Bridegroom. Our times of prayer are not to be merely praying through a list of needs or spending so much time, but a time to fix and focus our lives upon the Lord — sharing our hearts and getting to know His. And worship is more than expressing the praise that God deserves; it is declaring the faithfulness, goodness, and greatness of our Bridegroom. Undergirding all of this must be a passion for the Lord that fills our hearts and fires our actions. This and this alone is the heart of true Christianity.

Do we dare say with the psalmist, “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart …” (Psalm 26:2). Let us allow the season of hearts and valentines to challenge us to more fully become the passionate Bride of Christ — a Bride who is both devoted to her Bridegroom and longing for His return.