The Valentine Story Culture Forgot

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:7

This week, love is everywhere. It’s named, celebrated, and put on display. Scripture speaks often about love too, but biblical love flows out of God’s character and is shaped by His truth. Because of that, love in Scripture is not guided by impulse or sentimentality, but by loyalty to God and trust in His wisdom. Love, rightly ordered, listens to what God says is good.

That understanding of love helps us see why the story of St. Valentine still matters, especially during a week when his name is everywhere but his faith is largely forgotten.

Late tradition often connects Valentine with performing Christian marriage ceremonies in defiance of the Roman empire, but the earliest historical accounts tell a simpler and more sobering story: he was faithful to Christ when that faith carried a cost. 

Valentine lived under Roman authority in the third century, a time when open allegiance to Christ carried serious consequences. The Roman world tolerated worship of many gods, but it did not tolerate rivals to Caesar’s ultimate authority. To confess Jesus as Lord was to place your highest loyalty outside the empire.

As a Christian leader, Valentine refused to renounce Christ when pressured to do so. He continued to identify himself with Jesus, even when that identification brought him under scrutiny. Eventually, that faithfulness led to his arrest and execution. The historical accounts don't give us dramatic speeches or elaborate scenes, but they do give us something more sobering: a picture of steady obedience in a dangerous time.

Valentine did not die because he sought conflict. He died because his love for Christ was settled—believing that faithfulness was better than self-preservation. When loyalty to Christ and loyalty to the state collided, Valentine chose Jesus.

The early Christians also lived with this understanding. Following Jesus often meant exclusion, suffering, and even death.  This kind of faith may feel extraordinary to us, but it was the expected posture of those who understood that Jesus was worth everything.

Most of us will never face the kind of threat Valentine faced. Still, the call to faithfulness remains. It shows up when obedience costs us approval. It appears when we trust God’s wisdom over cultural pressure. It grows in quiet decisions that never make headlines but shape our lives.

Valentine’s story reminds us that love for Christ is proven over time. It is revealed in steady allegiance, rooted in trust, and shaped by truth. The history behind this holiday points us back to a love that is not fleeting, but faithful.

That kind of love still honors God, and it's exactly the kind of love Christians are called to celebrate.

Reflection Question

How does the story of St. Valentine convict and inspire you in your walk with Christ?

📖 Further Reflection

📖 Deuteronomy 6:5–9
📖 John 14:21
📖 Romans 8:35–39
📖 Hebrews 11

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You that You define what love is. You are worthy of all my love and loyalty. Teach me to trust Your wisdom and walk in obedience to Your Word. Help me to love as You have loved us. Strengthen me to remain faithful when obedience is costly, and shape my heart to desire what You say is good. May my life reflect a love rooted in truth and guided by You. Amen.