Lutheran Witness: February 2016

Online:

From the President: How Shall We Regard the Bible?

Web Exclusive: Pastor, Who Are You Voting For?

From the editor

If you’ve already had it with red roses and schmaltzy Hallmark commercials, heart-shaped helium balloons and cheap chocolate, you’ve come to the right place. In this issue of The Lutheran Witness, we’re still talking about love this Valentine’s Day . . . but not in the way the world understands it. Instead, we’re focusing on the comforting truth that God’s love for us isn’t based on feelings or emotions, those things that change and morph based on time and mood. No, God’s love is an action that remains true for us regardless: the death and resurrection of His only Son on our behalf and for our salvation.

Within these pages, you’ll learn why the world’s phrase “Love wins” is pretty hollow, how “I fell out of love” doesn’t cut it as an excuse for staying faithful to your spouse, which hymns remind you of God’s love for you in Jesus, why the idea of “loving the sinner, hating the sin” is backwards and who St. Valentine actually was (spoiler alert: a bold confessor of the faith!). You’ll be reminded that your worth doesn’t come from your relationship status and that it’s actually ok for families to have conversations about marriage, love and sex according to God’s will!

Married or single, divorced or widowed, you’ll get a glimpse of what real love — not the shallow, fleeting kind offered by the world — looks like by seeing the actions of Christ toward His Bride, the Church. Let the world keep its flowers (they wilt, after all) and champagne (it’s only bubbly for so long). God has given you the gift of a Savior whose love for you is far better . . . and it never fades!