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Baptism does not promise us chocolates or flowers, but something far greater: life in Christ.
When most people think of Valentine’s Day, they think of flowers, chocolates, and cards. It is a day wrapped in red and pink, shaped by romance, sentiment, and small gestures of affection. Valentine’s Day promises a kind of love that can be bought, planned, and neatly expressed. In truth, I am a sucker for such things.
But for me, Valentine’s Day is marked not only by hearts and cards, but by water and promise.
I was baptized on Valentine’s Day when I was 17 years old. At the time, I understood baptism as simply something I needed to do to join the church. I didn’t really know why I needed it or what would happen. If I’m honest, I was hoping I would feel something holy—something unmistakable that would affirm God’s claim on me.
What I did not understand then was that baptism does not depend on what I feel, but on what God promises.
I did not feel anything particularly spiritual when I was baptized. What I felt was water on my head and the presence of people around me. They gathered close. They welcomed me. They rejoiced with me.
What I did not understand then was that baptism does not depend on what I feel, but on what God promises. The water, the people, the joy—all of it was a sign of what baptism gives: not a private spiritual experience, but God’s public claim on a person and their placement into a community shaped by God’s love in Christ.
That realization has everything to do with the Christian witness remembered on Valentine’s Day.
St. Valentine lived in the third century, most likely in Rome or the surrounding regions of Italy, during a time when Christianity was illegal and frequently persecuted by the Roman Empire. Early Christian tradition remembers him as a pastor, possibly a bishop, who cared for Christians living under constant threat. He was arrested and executed around 269 AD, during the reign of Emperor Claudius II.
Valentine was killed for one reason: he confessed Christ.
Some traditions say he secretly performed Christian marriages. Others say he ministered to imprisoned believers and openly proclaimed the gospel. The historical details vary, but the witness remains the same. Valentine’s faith was not sentimental. It was embodied. He loved people by giving them the gospel. He trusted Christ when that trust could cost him his life.
But Valentine’s love does not end with Valentine.
The love Valentine lived and died for was received before it was ever given.
Like all Christian witnesses, his life points beyond itself. Valentine did not die for love as an abstract idea. He died because he trusted in Jesus Christ who loved the world by giving himself on the cross, and who loved his disciples to the very end. The love Valentine lived and died for was received before it was ever given.
That is the love that stands behind Valentine’s Day.
Christ’s love is not fragile or fleeting. It does not fade when feelings pass. It is a love that takes on flesh, kneels to wash feet, stretches out arms on a cross, and rises from the grave. It is a love given fully for those who do not yet understand it, deserve it, or even ask for it.
That is the love baptism unites us to.
In baptism, we are joined to Christ’s death and resurrection. We are claimed by a love stronger than sin, stronger than fear, and stronger than death. Baptism does not promise us chocolates or flowers, but something far greater: life in Christ.
So give your flowers, chocolates, and cards to your valentines. Receive them with joy.
But remember there is a greater act of love behind them all. A love St. Valentine bore witness to. A love Christ gave to the world. A love that baptism joins us to—not a feeling we manufacture, but a promise spoken over us.
Long after the chocolates are gone and the cards are put away, that love remains—stronger than sin, stronger than death, and more than enough.
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