It’s All About God’s Love Flowing Out of Us to Impact Others

Unusual as it may be, today is both Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday. Although one day is celebrated by the giving of chocolates and flowers and the other day is commemorated by beginning 40 days of fasting, no matter how you look at it, today is a day about love.

Modern-day Valentine’s Day celebrations are between those who share a mutual bond of love, which often includes gifts and sweet notes. The historical significance of Valentine’s Day is very different than today’s celebrations, but it too is about love. A roman priest, St. Valentine, performed secret marriages in response to an edict issued from church-persecutor emperor Claudias that said no young couples should be married. St. Valentine was later caught and martyred for his determination to uphold the Biblical importance of marriage.

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent in anticipation of Easter Sunday. Many believers across the globe will choose to fast from something—often a food, drink or source of entertainment—in order to seek the Lord in a deeper way and prepare for the joyous morning of Resurrection Day. Because of the love God poured out on the world through His Son, Jesus Christ, and because of the love we now carry in our hearts toward Him, we can use this time to contemplate His great sacrifice on the cross and His unconditional love toward His children.

It’s all about love.

And because we carry this love of God within our hearts, it flows out of us to impact the lives of others whom God loves. At Gospel for Asia, that’s how our ministry works, both in Asia and here in the United States. Ministry, sacrifice and joy are all birthed out of our love for God.

Ratan’s life is evidence of how God-given love can overflow into another’s life and produce incredible transformation.


If you had met Ratan 11 years ago, you would have seen a skinny 5-year-old boy who had no friends. He would likely have been too shy to speak to you. You might have even noticed a slight scowl on his forehead indicating the headaches, fever and joint pain his young body frequently suffered.

If the rest of Ratan’s life was to be as difficult as his first five years, his future would be bleak. But God reached down and transformed this little boy, who today dreams of serving his nation and aiding his fellow countrymen.


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