God’s Love and Truth for our Schools: On Valentine’s Day
CEAI Executive Director David Schmus and his wife Elizabeth sharing about the opportunity of Valentine’s Day for Christian educators to engage students about biblical love.
Get in the discussion below for great tips and resources you can use on Valentine’s Day!
Valentine’s Day in Your Classroom
David Schmus, Executive Director
As a Christian educator in a public school, I made an effort to use holidays as occasions to educate my students about our shared history. In many cases, this provided opportunities to discuss explicitly Christian ideas and eternal issues. Believe it or not, Valentine’s Day is such an opportunity.
Most attempts to tell the true history of Valentine’s Day focus on the story of a Christian priest, “Valentine,” who secretly performed marriage ceremonies after they had been outlawed by the Roman emperor. Archeological evidence does support Valentine’s existence, but where history ends and legend begins is hard to tell.
Some sources suggest that Valentine was captured and executed on February 14, possibly in A.D. 270. However, just before his execution, he penned a note to his beloved signed, “From Your Valentine.” Check out some of the links below for more information about the history of Valentine’s Day, including videos you can show your students.
Beyond telling this story, we at Christian Educators Association encourage you to use Valentine’s Day to engage your students with a biblical model of love. Our culture confuses love with emotion—as something we “fall” into or out of. While love certainly includes powerful emotions, we know from the scriptures that love is characterized by a choice to act, even when our emotions are leading the other way.
Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13, Jesus’ own experience in Gethsemane, and countless other examples show that true love is sacrificial. Marriages that last are those built on the love of a husband and wife who do experience emotional connection, but also have the character to choose to love even in times when emotions are contrary. How can we lead our students to build a foundation of this biblical model of love?
I would encourage you to check out some of the resources below and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you for your specific students. Please comment below with your own tips for making Valentine’s Day a meaningful experience in our classrooms. And may the Lord bless you with His great love this Valentine’s Day.
Video Resources
(preview for age appropriateness)
History of Valentine’s Day for older students
- Bet You Didn’t Know: Valentine’s Day. Fun facts about history and current practice of Valentine’s Day from the History Channel
- Interview about history of Valentine’s day from The Huffington Post
Inspirational videos for classroom use
- What is Love: The Story of Bill and Glad
- Robertson McQuilkin Resignation Speech
- What is Love from Samaritan’s Purse (one child mentions Jesus but not in a proselytizing way, use with discretion in public schools)
History of Valentine’s Day for most ages
Mentioned in the CEAI Valentine’s Day video
- Carl and Ellie from “Up” by Disney/Pixar
- A Special Prom Night Across America with Tim Tebow: ABC News
Other Resources
- The Lie About Falling in Love, Debra Fileta, Relevant Magazine (this article presents a biblical view of love but can be used in a public school classroom)
- How To Truly Love Your Spouse, Gary Chapman, Focus on the Family
- Valentine’s Day resources from Christianity Today
Share your tips. Tell your stories. Inspire each other!
Such a beautiful and inspirational love story. Thanks for sharing.