During His final moments with his apostles, Jesus taught, "love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12). To be clear, He didn't just instruct us to love one another, but to do so as He loved us. How exactly did He love us? He declares in the very next verse, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Not long after this, He would indeed lay down His life for all of mankind.
Not everyone is called upon to die in order to save the life of another. Relatively few will even have the opportunity. But there are other ways one might lay down his or her life for their friends. Any time we sacrifice our time, talents, and resources to help another, we are laying down a piece of ourselves to give to another.
This Valentine's Day, remember that the truest expression of love is giving of oneself, just as Christ, the greatest of all, gave of Himself for us.