I hear this a lot. “Happy Singles Awareness Day!” It’s a cynical badge of honor, the anti-holiday on this seemingly sappy day devoted to lovers and all of the things you can buy them.

But here’s the thing. If you know Jesus, you are not single. I don’t care if you’re married, engaged, figuring things out via OK Cupid, or saving yourself for George Clooney. You’re not single. I’ll even say it again. You, dear married/engaged/dating/saving-yourself reader, are not single. Why? Because we, collectively, we the church, are the Bride of Christ. We have a lover, who is wooing our souls, our hearts, and our spirits every day. And His love is perfect. He knows our desires, our loves, our needs. He knows our wants, and He blesses us abundantly with them. He is ready to spend time with us, laugh with us, cry with us, even joke with us. God is Love, and therefore He is the ultimate Lover. With Him in our lives…..no. You are not single, and your heart is not lonely or closed off. If it is, get on your knees and seek Him out, because something is wrong. No bride should be lonely in the presence of the Groom.  If you are, that’s a problem. But there is a solution and it’s an easy one. Just spend time with Him and let Him fill you up. Simple as that (and then you can get back to your regularly scheduled Clooney Quest).

For the Bride, for us blessed enough to know our one true Groom and savior, every day is Valentine’s Day. We can walk through the world, wherever He sends us, and watch Him move and love on people all year long. The love never stops. All we have to do is be open to it.

I ask you all to send some love on your Groom today. Lavish your love on Him, even if it feels silly. He will do all that and more in return. And stand with Him in His quest to love the world, for there are many lonely hearts in the world who don’t have a Groom and don’t have hope. They come in all forms – they are married to someone on earth, they are engaged, they are dating, they are saving themselves for Scarlett Johansson. They are lonely regardless, because they are focusing on the wrong relationship. The only one that counts is already right in front and probably pounding on the door of their hearts.

I ask you all to not get confused with this holiday. Don’t focus on the wrong relationship (no, that doesn’t mean ignore your wife. But don’t ignore Jesus either!) and don’t get cynical over the materialism of the day. (That means YOU, you singles-awareness-day people – don’t you do it!). Focus on the fact that this is a day dedicated to love, and you are a beautiful and radiant lover of Jesus. You are a Bride, and bursting with all the radiance that comes with the big day. Revisit what love is, what it looks like and how it sounds. Then go spread it. See, if you don’t have a spouse/significant other/family of your own, Jesus is probably waiting for you to stop your wallowing and open your eyes to the lonely hearts that you DO have in your life. The ones who need you to show them, even in passing and even if they don’t say so, what love is. And He is waiting for you to join Him and pour it out.

Forget about Singles Awareness Day. In Him, there is no such thing.

God bless!

~Rebekah A