I'm sure that this will come as no surprise to you, but I'll tell you anyway: Valentine's Day is right around the corner!

I have to admit, though, every year I'm amazed at how many guys forget all about it until the very day. Then they scramble around during their lunch hour, searching for a decent card on the almost-empty racks of the neighborhood drugstore.

The only "gift" they get is a box of candy that they grab on the way to the checkout. Unless, of course, they have lots of money and feel guilty for some reason -- then they swing into a jewelry store and drop a couple hundred on a pair of earrings or a bracelet.

I'll bet that most of these last-minute romantics pull it off, too. They show up at home in the evening, armed with a card, a box containing chocolate (or gold), and perhaps some flowers for good measure. They whisk their "significant other" into their arms, dole out a couple smooches, hand over the loot, and head out the door to wait in line for an hour at a nearby restaurant.

The significant other never knows the difference. The last- minute scrambling, the fact that the card was "just right" because there were no others left to choose, the convenient candy -- it's all unknown to the significant other. The romantic evening seems as though it had been planned in great detail, not thrown together on the fly.

And do you know what scares me about this whole scenario?

What scares me is that so many of us treat Judgment Day as if it were Valentines Day. We know it's coming eventually, but we continue to put off our preparation until later.

But what will happen if we wait until the day of? Will we be able to scramble around at the last minute and make things right? Will we be able to drop a couple bucks, pick up some flowers, and impress the Lord with how well-prepared we are?

For some reason, I doubt it.

So enjoy this Valentine's Day. Share flowers, candy and kisses with your loved one. Be romantic, even if it's a last-minute thing. But let's not forget the important stuff.

Let's not treat our salvation as an after-thought.

Peace,
Brandon