The color red has long been understood to represent life, love, war and death. Interestingly, these passions and experiences of humankind can all be found in the very first account of man in the Bible. The first human life in all creation was a man named “Adam.” It is worth noting that the name in Hebrew can be translated as either “man” or “red.”
Not only was Adam the first man to experience life, he was the first man to experience an intimate and loving relationship with God. Furthermore, God created a woman named Eve with whom Adam could experience both friendship and romantic love. But sadly, Adam and Eve together failed to remember their first love (God!) and chose not to trust and obey Him regarding the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. By choosing to listen to the temptations of Satan they joined into the war between him and God (and they chose the wrong side). Their decision resulted in spiritual death.
And thus began the most amazing love story in all of history.
Since man was the source of death, man would also have to be the solution in overcoming it. Herein lies the dilemma; only God himself could conquer death, and God was not a man. A human sacrifice was required to reverse the consequence of human sin. For this reason, and beyond all comprehension, God became the man Jesus who took upon himself the consequence of our sin. The Bible records that, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
The story of Christ and his people is truly a beautiful love story. In fact, the Bible commands husbands to love their wives “just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). The verse continues to explain that Christ died to make his bride pure “and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:27). Christ gave his life to make Christians pure so that we may enter heaven. He desires to spend eternity with us!
May the color red of Valentine’s Day remind us of the blood of Christ that was willingly spilled to demonstrate God’s passionate love for us. Let us also remember the man who proved his love to the one who first loved him. St. Valentine lost his life because he would not deny the one that he loved — Christ! Read more about the History of St. Valentine.
The color white is generally understood to symbolize purity. When speaking of the forgiveness of sins, Isaiah 1:18 says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Interestingly, the color white in the Bible is most often used to describe the garments of holy people; Christ, the holy angels, and the saints are all described as wearing white. When Christ is seen in his glory at the transfiguration, Matthew describes him as wearing clothes “white as the light” (Matthew 17:2), and Mark says that “his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them” (Mark 9:3). An angel who appeared at the tomb of Christ at the resurrection is described as follows: “His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow” (Matthew 28:3). The book of Revelation records the words of Jesus to the saints in the church of Sardis, “They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white” (Revelation 3:4-5).
What a fitting description for the clothing of those that will participate in the greatest wedding of all time (between Christ and his church). And let us remember that it is God’s great love that led him to give himself up for the church that she might be cleansed and made radiant in preparation for the glorious marriage. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7).
The color pink is the lovely result of combining red and white. May it serve as a reminder of how the significant meaning of the colors red and white work together to tell the complete love story between Christ and his church.
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