"God's Valentine" (Part 2)

Yesterday I introduced the theme of the “Valentines” God has sent to us. There are so many ways that He has sent us His message of love. One of the first and most basic can be seen in creation itself. Just the simple truth that God created the heavens and the earth is a message of His great love for us. This is how the Apostle John thought of the creation:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-14 NIV).

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the world-famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, was not above telling tales about himself in which he was the laughing-stock. Here is one of those stories. As he tells it, he was waiting at a taxi stand outside the railway station in Paris. When a taxi pulled up, he put his suitcase in it and got in himself. As he was about to tell the taxi-driver where he wanted to go, the driver asked him: "Where can I take you, Mr. Doyle?" Doyle was flabbergasted. He asked the driver whether he knew him by sight. The driver said: "No Sir, I have never seen you before." The puzzled Doyle asked him what made him think that he was Conan Doyle. The driver replied: "This morning's paper had a story about you being on vacation in Marseilles. This is the taxi stand where people who return from Marseilles always come to. Your skin color tells me you have been on vacation. The ink-spot on your right index finger suggests to me that you are a writer. Your clothing is very English, and not French. Adding up all those pieces of information, I deduce that you are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle." Doyle said: "This is truly amazing. You are a real-life counter-part to my fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes." "There is one other thing," the driver said. "What is that?" "Your name is on the front of your suitcase."

There are two ways to be personally aware of God's existence. We can deduce from intricately crafted arguments, or merely pay attention to the fact that God's name is plastered all over creation. Oh, I think there is a necessary place for such carefully worded arguments, but I also have a great deal of admiration for the little boy who was told by an atheist, "I'll give you an apple if you can show me where God is." His simple response, "Mister, I'll give you a bushel of apples if you can show me where God isn't." Take a moment to look outside and see the signature of God. Everything you see is His Valentine message of love to you today!