As I entered our local Hallmark Store a few days before Valentine’s Day, I engaged in one of my favorite hobbies—people watching. Through the fragrance of candles, red roses, and chocolates, I made my way to the busiest part of the store where Valentine cards were as varied as the people who stood quietly, reading card after card, searching for the one that could express what they couldn’t quite put into words.
While adults wrestled with their feelings, an eager little boy stood on tiptoe to reach a pack of Pokémon cards and stickers for his classmates. Down the aisle, an elderly man with weathered hands slowly lifted one card after another, then with a smile, he tucked a card under his arm and headed for the check-out counter, but not before he selected a plush bear with a satin bow. I nudged my way past a young adult in ripped jeans, one arm covered with a sleeve tattoo. She shook her head and whispered to her friend, “I need one for Clayton. Should it be lovey-dovey or . . . hilarious?” While she tried to pick a lane, it reminded me that people have been stressing over Valentines for generations.
The first mass-produced Valentines arrived in the 1840s. Known as the “Mother of the American Valentine,” Esther Howland sold cards with lace and ribbons from her Massachusetts home and started the tradition of Valentines in America. This year, a whopping 145 million Valentine cards will be exchanged, and 2.5 billion will be spent on candy.
We go to extraordinary lengths to prove our affections, but God’s eternal love doesn’t depend on paper hearts or a date on the calendar. “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Love is God’s hallmark every day of the year—not just on a holiday. Over 700 years ago, Britain began using hallmarks to stamp articles of gold, silver, or platinum to certify their quality and authenticity. In the same way, love is God’s identifying hallmark. It’s proof that what Jesus Christ offers—forgiveness of sin and everlasting life—is real, trustworthy, and more precious than earthly treasures.
God’s love reveals itself in a thousand quiet, steady ways—some we notice, some we understand in hindsight. For inmates, He may use surprising ways to deliver His message. If the direct approach doesn’t work, God may slip into a prison cell through a Bible verse or kindness from another inmate.
In the classic, “Les Misérables” by Victor Hugo, a former prisoner violates his parole and spends his life trying to live as an honorable man while being relentlessly pursued by the law. Hugo writes, “The pupil dilates in the darkness and finds light, just as the soul dilates in misfortune and finds God.” Hugo’s words confirm a deeper truth: even in the darkest places, God is already at work, meeting a prisoner where judgment would never think to look. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
God’s hallmark isn’t printed on paper. His love is engraved on hearts, written in Scripture, and demonstrated by Jesus’ death on the cross. It’s a daily declaration that redemption is possible for anyone who turns from their sin, and towards the Savior. Jailbird Ministry Bibles carry that message into jails and prisons, where God’s love is desperately needed.
