Love is a Good Subject

Good morning! Today seems like a good day to share God's love for you and me, and then share my love for you. The first we often take for granted; the second we have trouble understanding. We say the words expressing God's love, but do we let it sink deep into our hearts where the emotions dwell? Are we afraid to experience God's love as we should? You may not have this problem, but I have noticed it in myself. I like to keep God's love on an intellectual level, sort of like a logical thing. Jesus gave his life for me on the cross, therefore it is proven that God loves me, q.e.d., or something along those lines. Reading the psalms in the Bible makes that cold logic thing a bit more difficult.

The modern equivalent is the Christian songs we hear on K-Love or MyBridge and other radio stations. Songs and psalms have feeling and emotion. If you have served in the military through a Christmas overseas and sung along with 'Silent Night' while fighting back the emotion you will know what I mean. A few painful experiences in life, and you may flee from emotions rather than enjoy them. You might call it being strong, but since when did refusing to face a condition become a sign of strength? We are taught this sort of thing because parents, teachers, coaches, and others may have found emotions difficult too. Recall the few painful experiences thing, and you pretty much have every person's life in a nutshell. One of the most difficult prayers in my young life is: Open up my heart to your love, dear God, that I might feel your love for me.

The first love, God's love, allows and grows the second. To experience God's love, even for just a moment, is to want to share it. However, my love for you is a decision too. Many of you I don't know very well, and others I don't know at all. Yet, in Christ, we decide to love one another in obedience to His command. God knows us intimately, and decided to love us. We follow His lead and decide to love even without that knowledge of the secret good and evil in each of us. Loving one another is a work in progress of course. My love for you is not perfect like God's love, but I'll keep on working at it.

For this Valentine's Day: My love to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ on this day, and God's love to all of us as we walk that narrow way with His Son!

Bucky