through His Son, whom He sent as an expression of His love, a free gift. Romans 6 says:
22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We did not deserve to have a relationship with God - it is nothing to be earned, rather, it is received through faith, believing on Jesus and accepting Him into our hearts. Our God loved us so much that He saw us in our sinful state, apart from Him and destined to stay that way, and sent His son to die so that in Him we might live. It's been characterized as an exchange, or as a song from quite a few years ago put it, a "great" exchange: God giving His life for ours, so that we, by laying down our lives, can experience his eternal and abundant life.
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great giver, our God, who has given us His Son to be our Savior. James 1 states:
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
It's Valentine's Day, and it has become a popular holiday when people show acts of love and devotion to one another and celebrate in many cases by sharing gifts - lots of them! According to a survey by WalletHub, this year, just over one-third of those surveyed, 36%, expected their "Valentine" to spend between 50 and 100 dollars on gifts. However, almost half, 44% said they only planned to spend 49 dollars or under, with 32% saying they planned to spend in that 50-100 range.
Number 1 gifts: candy, with 52% saying they planned to buy that; 44% said they planned to buy greeting cards. The "most wanted" Valentine's Day gift - gift cards, with 3-in-10 characterizing it as best; the "least wanted:" gift cards; 2 out of 10 said a gift card was the worst.
The survey took a turn toward the area of "Money & Relationships," and revealed some important considerations. 80% of those surveyed said a partner's bad credit should be a concern, with 38% of people overall saying they would not date someone with bad credit: 45% of women said this, 31% of men did.
4 in 10 people said "irresponsible spending is a bigger turnoff than bad breath."
The worst type of money problems in a relationship? 35% said financial secrets, 27% said irresponsible spending. This somewhat contradicts, though, the answers to a question about the best way to avoid money problems. 40% said that separate accounts would do the trick, only 21% said joint accounts would. But, just under a third said that discussing purchases is the best way for couples to avoid money problems.
On this Valentine's Day, it is inspiring to reflect on the One who loves us greatly, who loved us enough to die on a cross so that we can be brought into a relationship with Himself. And, with all this talk of gifts, we recognize that our Heavenly Father is a giver of all good gifts, and gave us the greatest gift of all when He sent His Son for us.
And, He enables us to have healthy relationships, and has provided sound principles in order to guide our relationships, predicated on His love. Jesus said He did not come to be served, but to serve, and that attitude of putting others first, especially our spouse, can contribute to strong, God-honoring relationships.
Regarding marriage, one component to a strong marriage is communication, one of the areas mentioned in the survey. And, communicating about money is key. It's been said that one of the main contributing factors to marriages breaking apart is money. "No secrets" is an excellent motto with regard to properly managing finances within a home. And, a couple can get away from the concepts of "yours" and "mine" and adopt the mindset of "ours." That's good in the area of money, and in other areas, as well - marriage is intended by God to be a "one flesh" relationship.
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