Fully Known by Our Lover

We have eaten and drunk in your presence, and you have taught in our streets. But, he shall say, I tell you, I know you not.. -- Jesus (Luke 13:26)

In my marriage, I'm not primarily looking for my bride to be a good cook, a diligent mother, or to offer herself as a sex object. What I desire is to be intimately known, to be loved and to be respected. From her perspective, my bride wants me to communicate that I genuinely love her and understand her. If I diligently give her 30 minutes of "couch time" each day but do it out of duty, grudgingly or by constraint instead of love, then it does not really accomplish what it should.

In the same way, God is not primarily interested in how we work for Him, what we give to Him or what doctrine we believe about Him. Rather, He wants us to love and seek Him with all our hearts. Going to church, teaching a class or memorizing scripture does nothing in this direction unless it flows out of our love for God and our relationship with Him. I can say, "I love you", a hundred times a day to my wife but it means absolutely nothing if I don't desire to be with her, hear her voice and get to know her better. A husband might make a great effort to complete the "honey-do" list, but is it because he doesn't want to be nagged or because he wants to please his bride and bring her joy?

Our love for our spouse can become lip service. Our love for God can also become just an appearance. Let's check our love for God. Do we actually "want" to spend time with Him everyday? Do we find time for Him everyday? Do we hunger and thirst to hear His words? Do we treasure His words? Do we genuinely want to please Him?

It is easy to become distracted. And it's easy to acquire wrong desires and priorities. When we are threatened with the loss of a spouse, friend or child, then we see how upside-down our priorities have become. Let's stop and think. Am I really in love with Christ? How can I fall more fully in love with Him? God offers us the Holy Spirit so that we can truly love Him. Let's entreat God for more of His Spirit of love and for more grace to love Him and our neighbor. Let's know our Lover and be fully known by the Lover of our soul.

Strive to enter in at the strait gate.. -- Jesus (Luke 13:24)