Recently I was praying for a friend and what came up in my heart was, “Your relationship with God is vital!” But that phrase has two sides to it. Yes, it’s absolutely true that our relationship with God is necessary and essential to living in the fullness of what He has for us. But our relationship with God is also meant to be ALIVE! ...living, growing, developing. For years, a favorite scripture has been in Philippians 4… that my determined purpose is to know Him. The Amplified Bible says “that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him”. In a month when there have been marriage seminars going on everywhere and a lot of talk about healthy relationships, I’ve not only been stirred concerning preparing my heart for marriage and strengthening my relationships with people, but I’ve been challenged to put some of those same principles to work in my relationship with God. He is my first love, my true love, my deepest love. I value that relationship and His fellowship more than any other, and I’m so thankful (and amazed!) that He feels even more strongly about me! He feels strongly about you, too!
There are innumerable facets of God’s love for us to discover and embrace. Healing is the love of God in demonstration. Provision is the love of God in demonstration. Every fruit of the Spirit is rooted in love and are facets of His love… joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Even correction and discipline are His love in demonstration. The list could go on. And every time we discover a new aspect of His love… acknowledge that part of Who He is and allow that to be expressed not only in us but through us… we are able to love Him back in a fresh and new way, too. We fall in love all over again… we overflow with love all over again… we are full of gratitude for Who He is all over again.
I am so thankful for His love… for Who He is… for Who He is to me…for Who He is in me… for Who He is through me. His love has been shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit, and when I really allow Him to love me by receiving and embracing that love (even in being conscious that His love IS shed abroad my heart RIGHT NOW), I’m able to love Him back with the love He has given me…I’m able to truly love myself with the love He has given me…and I am able to truly love other people with the love He has given me.
The Greatest Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength. And second like it: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. But we love Him because He first loved us. And we can only truly love ourselves and love other people when we know He first loved us, too. Even Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you. As I have loved you, now you ought to love one another.” In either case, whether loving God or loving people, it all originates in BEING LOVED. You are, after all, His BE-LOVED. I’m so glad it all rests on His love and not mine! His love never fails!
So while Valentines Day may be over for another year, let love… TRUE Love… carry on. Our lives and our relationships will be affected forever.