There is an idea that’s been floating around in my head. It began with the loosening of restrictions due to the Covid 19 outbreak. I haven’t seen any statistics, but it seems certain, well more than plausible, that there are a lot of weddings being planned and performed since the restrictions began being lifted.

A common comment that is often repeated, at least from older generations, is that people, who have decided to get married, had been shot with Cupid’s arrow. Now some might wonder how Cupid’s arrow can have anything to do with apologetics. Well, an analogy exists if one looks at Cupid’s arrow as an allegory to a love that exists. Believers in Jesus Christ understand where love comes from and it only takes two scriptural texts to point this out.

(All scriptural references will be from New American Standard Bible.)The primary verse used to show us true love is that God is love, The full verse is 1 John 4:8, “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  While there are many verses that give us a succinct idea of this Love of God, one particular verse sums up the conditions regarding what love is and where it comes from. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love, because He first loved us.”  Therefore, everything in the universe, as it relates to love, exists because God himself is love and has provided an opportunity for us to know love.

So now, back to the correlation; there would be no idea of a Cupid, let alone any comprehension of what true love is if love had not been a gift from God.  To go one step further in this analogy, Cupid’s arrows are important in how they show us that there is such a thing called love. Love stems from God.

Not only is love the arrow in Cupid’s quiver, but it is also an arrow in the quiver for Christian Apologists. Introducing non-believers to Jesus Christ is an act of love and something we are called to do as Christians. Anyone wanting to defend the Christian faith and present the truth of the Gospel to others must take seriously the command of Jesus Christ. It is known as the Great Commission and it is found in Matthew 28:19 telling us to, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Sharing the gospel to others shows God’s primacy of love toward the world. Even though many have rejected God, He doesn’t want anyone to reject His love toward them. Sharing this Gospel of reconciliation is nothing to shy away from due to apprehension or fear.  There is an acronym that has come from the word fear (with an unknown origin) that defines fear as ‘False Evidence Appearing Real.’ One can apply it to that feeling of apprehension as well. No one knows what will become of any conversation with a non-believer if they don’t begin by saying something to them. If the person isn’t interested just say, “I’m sorry you feel that way.” If they do show an interest one can set up a time for further conversations about who Jesus is and what He did for mankind.

The book of Romans makes many good points about the relationship between God and His creation, and of mankind in particular. Verses that depict God’s Love and desire for a relationship with us are found in Romans 5: 6-8. It states, “⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  It should be noted that the statement found in verse eight of, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us,” is a wonderful example showing how the word love is a verb and that it denotes action. God demonstrated what love is; because of that demonstration we can go forward to see the truth of love as stated back in 1 John 4:19 that said, “We love, because He first loved us.”   

While Cupid’s arrows are metaphorically shot into the hearts of two lovers, a Christian’s quiver needs to be full of arrows that can be used when an opportunity to share the gospel is present.  Be aware, some people have been duped, some people have been wounded and hurt, some people simply reject the idea of God, and some people try to be their own god.  Regardless of how the barriers to accepting the truth were created, people need to experience the love of God which is essentially The Good News of the Gospel of Christ.

In plain English, and in keeping with the theme of Cupid’s arrows, those barriers sometimes need to be shot down. Showing love toward others, by sharing the Gospel with them, one can do just that.