Over the centuries, Valentine's Day became a day to celebrate the love for sweethearts, parents, children and sometimes a secret love. For Christians, the source of all love is God, expressed in the gift of his Son for mankind. This example of selfless love gives Valentine's Day a new meaning. Christian expressions of love, scripture verses and activities prompted by Christian principles can make this day an opportunity to share God's love with others.

Software programs such as Microsoft Publisher and other online greeting card programs make it easy to design and customize your own valentine cards. Using a design template or a blank card, create a personalized valentine to share with that special someone. You can choose a design, color scheme, add a personal note or poem and include a scripture verse that reminds the recipient of God's love, such as "We love because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19).

On Valentine's Day, we tend to focus on a special someone in our lives. But as Christians, we are charged to share God's love with our neighbors, friends and the world. This is a perfect time to extend the reach of God's love by bringing food or clothing to a homeless shelter or soup kitchen, visiting a sick or lonely neighbor, volunteering at a local hospital or nursing home or writing a note of thanks or taking cookies to the local firefighters, police or those who serve in the military. This is a great opportunity to fulfill God's charge to love one another.

Make Valentine's Day a day of fellowship. Invite other couples over for dinner or dessert, include the kids and just spend time enjoying each other's company. Play games like charades, using Bible verses on love or movie and TV show titles with the word "love" in them to act out. Have the kids make scripture valentines to distribute to a local hospital or day care. Play a game of "word scramble." Write song titles with a love theme, like "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing," or "Let Me Call You Sweetheart, I'm in Love With You," on pieces of paper. Cut the slips of paper so each word is separate, mix them up and have teams try to put them back together. Close the evening by sharing favorite scripture verses on love, and end with prayer. You can transform Valentine's Day from commercial cards and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates to a focus on God's abundant love and His charge to Christians to love one another.