Updated 4:30 pm EDT; 20 February 2026
The day is almost here. The day dreaded by singles and noncommittal couples alike: Valentine’s Day. Now, if you talked to past me about this particular holiday, I would normally joke and pretend I hate seeing all the cute couples spending time together. However, God has been revealing to me in more detail the bigger picture of true love, and it’s not just about having a significant other.
”fairy tales are filled with either great loss or great love…but…it is evident to me that every love story has both.”
Growing up, I was an imaginative child and my parents practically raised me on Rom-Coms. This combination led to me being quite a hopeless romantic, dying to get my hands on books and movies that depicted the sweet, unexpected, challenging, often excruciating stories that told of great loves, even if they involved great losses. Despite the beauty of fairytale love, the tragic endings that left true love between two characters forever unfulfilled occupied my mind as much as the sweet happy endings. I always thought the story ended one way or the other, with either great loss or great love. But as I’ve grown up, both in this world and in my faith, it is evident to me that every love story has both.
I have never been in a romantic relationship, but as I’ve been learning, I (along with many others) am destined to be the bride to an eternal love, from the beginning of time. The Bible says that “For [God] chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight in love” (Ephesians 1:4). As a Christian and also belonging to the Church, we are all recipients of Jesus’ love through his death on the cross. We were separated from God because of our sin, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph. 2:4-5). If you are saved, you already participate in this love, whether you’re dating or not.
”If you are saved, you already participate in this love, whether you are dating or not.”
In the fairytales, in the rom-coms, in the historical fictions, in the sci-fi stories, we see the selfless sacrifice that one person makes to save the hero, or to give up their happiness so that someone else could find love. But in the Bible we see the ultimate resolution, the greatest display of love where Jesus died to pay for our sins, yet rose again to keep us with him in eternity. This love is on display for us everywhere we look; God designed human relationships to mirror that of Christ in the church, telling husbands to “love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25). So, if you are in a relationship, don’t take for granted the wonderful part you get to play in mirroring the love of God to everyone around you. But on the other hand, you don’t need to find “the one” here on earth to be happy forever, just remember that there is a true and perfect love waiting for you in the arms of Jesus.
Hannah is a duel Biochemistry and Ceramics major who enjoys hanging out with friends and loves Jesus.
