Please forgive this being a little late. I am fighting a losing battle with this virus that is going around. But that is not an excuse. God is in control and Jesus Christ is the King of King of Kings. Amen.

Okay. It is Valentine’s Day. Why is this a "holiday?" To the world it is because Valentine’s Day and Easter are the two days out of the year where everyone is allowed to eat CHOCOLATE without fear of penalty. To everyone else (LOL) it is a day we celebrate because we need to let people we know that we love them. We love our family and friends and we should tell them often. Jesus says we are to love our enemies. God showed His love by sending His Son to die for us.

There are three people named "St. Valentine" that I found in doing a little research. The most significant one which I found was a Catholic priest and martyr in Rome. He was known as Valentine of Rome. He was martyred for refusing to deny Christ before the Roman Emperor Claudius in the year 280. Before his head was cut off, this Valentine restored sight and hearing to the daughter of his jailer. But he was also known for his use of the kiss as the sign of greeting among believers. This was seen as offensive by many, but Valentine continued the practice as biblical.

Let’s go back to Valentine’s thought about the kiss. It is an expression of love, but it is not the only expression.

One of the worst moments in the Bible is when Judas uses a kiss to show not his love, but his betrayal. Judas’ kiss was not only to identify Jesus, but an obvious attempt to fool Christ into thinking that he (Judas) was innocent.

Jesus let him know the mockery of the situation, that He had been betrayed by a kiss, a sign of faithfulness, love and affection. The bible says in Prov. 27:6, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." There is a danger that our affections for one another can make it easy for an enemy to deceive us. Satan has many tricks and temptations to throw at God’s people. Judas played the part of a disciple and was well respected by the group. But he was a devil from the beginning. The betraying kiss only revealed what was in his heart all along.

We also see in the Gospel of Luke the story of the Prodigal Son. When he returned home after his wild life away from his father, this is what happened: "So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him." (Luke 15:20 NLT) This is one of the most blessed passages of scripture. Even the world looks at the story of the prodigal son with high respect. The love of the prodigal’s father is a picture of the love of our Heavenly Father. Many times people think God is harsh and demanding. They would give Him the qualities of a prison warden or a dictator.

The story of the prodigal reveals God as a loving Father. The prodigal expected his father to yell at him and punish him. He expected at least an "I told you so." But what he got from his father was a kiss, compassion, and joy that he had returned home. For those who are unsaved, believers must tell them that God will receive them no matter what has happened in the past. God is ready and willing to honor repentance and receive faith and worship. One may feel they have no effect in their witness bringing people to Jesus. But God is ready and help and welcome home, but someone needs to take the first step.

A kiss can mean a lot of different things. It can be an act of love, or it can be a hypocritical sign of betrayal. But an honorable kiss to God can bring many blessings and great benefits.