A Deeper Love

Having lived for nearly 62 years on this planet, I have discovered a few things about love. Like, just when I think I know what love is, along comes another wrinkle or "revelation" about it that causes me to know that . . . I really didn't know what love was at all.

I was having a conversation with a few young adult friends this past week. I think that was when I came to the realization that there is yet another type of love, another level, if you will. But, as with many discussions, in order for us to move forward, it is sometimes necessary to go back. So let's start off with a few words from the apostle Paul.

"11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. - 1 Corinthians 13:11

For this topic I think that's where we need to begin. It is when we leave our childhood behind, our childlike love, and we begin a journey of discovery that ultimately leads us right back to where we began. Here's another verse that hints at what I'm trying to get at. These words come from Jesus.

"14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 19:14

Close your eyes and think about the kind of love a child offers. Do you see the images in your mind? A child running into his mother's arms. A young girl hugging a puppy. Stuff like that. Warm and fuzzy images to be sure. There is a reason we find those mental pictures so pleasing and desirable. It is because, I believe, we long for them. We long to experience a love like that again. That childlike love that contains no fear or doubt.

Children trust. They offer love openly and freely, without fear of rejection, without doubt. They love completely and without question. So . . . that begs another question, "What happened to us?" I think we became afraid to love deeply and unconditionally because, to some degree, we have become afraid to see love as a commitment. If not afraid, perhaps . . . apprehensively cautious. That is not a healthy fear.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear." - 1 John 4:18

We spend much of our lives, after childhood, trying to get back to that simple kind of love we once had as a child. First finding it and then loving in it . . . again. It is more of a longing though, not really an active search. We will never find it that way. We should get off our butts and crave it!

The world in which we live today is much different from the world of our youth. Love comes with many more descriptors than it once did. Some think love will never find them because love has burned them too many times and they fear being hurt again. Others would give anything to be loved because they can't seem to find it anywhere. Still others are doomed to never find that perfect, child-like love because, as that old country song goes, they are searching for love in all the wrong places.

I was listening to a young friend recently. As she talked I listened . . . with my eyes. She was saying one thing with her lips but her eyes were telling me something else. She is longing for, and deep down, desiring, something deeper. That's when I began to see this need in her for this higher love I am writing about today. I began to see it through the compassion and love I have for my friend. The love of Jesus.

There is a desire within each of us, I think, for a deeper, more intimate, unconditional love. The kind of love we used to have as children, we long to have and experience that again. It IS possible to find that kind of love. The kind of love we all seek requires us to go back to the beginning . . . to the source. But we are often afraid to make the trip, to take the first step. And that is where we fail.

The young lady I was talking with is in a same-sex relationship. These kinds of relationships are embraced by our society these days and encouraged in our schools. Yet, same-sex relationships are "discouraged," to say the least, in the Bible. So what are we to do? What do we do when people we love make choices and decisions that lead down a path that is contrary to God's desires for us? Back to basics.

"30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:30-31

Hey, let's face it, we are ALL sinners. We spend so much time concerning ourselves with what we think OTHER people should be doing, we forget to examine ourselves, to see what it is that WE should be doing. We spend so much time talking about other people's sins, we forget to assess our own sinful nature and hold ourselves accountable. And most importantly, we forget to love.

"8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." - 1 John 4:8

As the discussion and the evening ended that night with my young friend, we parted company. But before we left, we hugged, and we exchanged I love you's. You see, this life is a journey - not to accomplish all we can, not to point out the faults of others, but to love all we meet. Jesus lived His life as an example of love. Something we should emulate. I don't judge or convict those who sin, because . . . that's me too.

Instead, I pray my young friend and others might see in me, not an old, uncaring man, but someone who exudes the love of his savior, Jesus Christ. Someone who has God's Holy Spirit living in me and loving through me.

The secret to the deeper love we all desire is found in Christ. It is found in the Bible. The information we all need for that "perfect love" and life has already been given to us. We just need to read it and apply it. So, do you desire a deeper, higher love? What are you waiting for? Run into His arms . . . like a little child. He is waiting, patiently, for you. He waited 53 years for me, he'll wait for you.

Here is a secular song written in 1957 for the musical The Music Man. A small group named The Beatles did a cover of the song five years later. Imagine the lead singer, Paul, singing this song, not to a would-be lover, but as a prayer to God. The song then takes on whole new meaning if you think of it that way. May you find the true meaning of love, as I did, in the arms of Christ. Then you too will finally know what love truly is. And you will realize there can be no love at all in our lives until we can finally sing . . . till there was You.

Till There Was You - The Beatles

Love Tracks

Do you know where you are going in life? Is your life on track to where you want it to go? How are your relationships?

I was talking with a young friend of mine this morning. He is in a relationship with a young lady - both of them believers.

Most relationships these days seem to be instantaneous. A young guy might look twice at a young lady and the next thing you know, it's Facebook official!

My conversation with my friend made me stop and think about our earthly relationships and what it is we are after?

"The world" would have us meet someone and "fall in love." It might be romantic. It might not. We might date or we might not. The relationship might be with someone of the opposite sex but it might not. There are so many different tracks for relationships these days, it can be frightening.

Do you read the Bible at all? You don't even have to read the entire thing to be able to get some sage advice. Google "relationship verses" and see what you get. Here's one I found by doing that very thing. It's pretty good advice in my opinion.

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." - Ephesians 4:2-3

Yea, that was good. Is the relationship you are in right now like that verse? Are you completely humble and gentle in your relationship? Do you put up with the other person, and all of their little quirks, in love? Do you make EVERY effort to treat your significant other the way God wants you to treat them? Have you found peace in your relationship?

All good questions.

May God bless your earthly relationships. May you love others like Christ loved us when He gave Himself up for us and took the penalty for OUR sins on Himself and died because of it. That is an AGAPE love. Sacrificial, no thought of self, totally focused on what is best for the other person. If we can do that with our relationships God will bless them.

The True Secret of Happiness

I'm not exactly sure when it occurred to me - this "secret" of happiness - but it did. And as soon as I realized just what that "secret" was, and started living it in my own life, this amazing, life-changing "secret" has proven itself to be true time and time again.

First, I should tell you that I am a Christian. I tell you that not to flaunt it or try to persuade you to give your life to Jesus . . . although I think that's a really good idea. ;) No, I tell you that so that those of you who want to follow this trail I am about to lay out before you can know where to start.

I use quotation marks around the word "secret" because this "secret" really isn't a secret at all. It has been known for thousands of years. The problem is, we as a people have chosen to ignore it and not live it out in our lives for others to see. The good news is we can begin to live it at anytime and discover for ourselves the true meaning of happiness - love.

Let's start our little journey of love today with a few verses from the Bible. Again, I am not trying to sway anyone or convict anyone or judge anyone. I just want to show you something. If you have a Bible, go get it. Otherwise, read them here in this text.

The first clue to true happiness can be found several places in the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). This is from Luke . . .

"27 He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" - Luke 10:27

It is pretty clear that Jesus wants us to love God and love each other. But what is this "love" He is talking about? We can "love" many things and in many ways. I love potato salad, I love my wife, I love my friend. With what kind of love are we to love God and others?

The ancient Greek word "love" used in this text is "agape" - an unconditional, sacrificial love. Do you love others unconditionally?

Clue number two is found in in Book of 1 John, the fourth chapter, verses 7-21. This is an incredible passage of scripture and contains many wonderful truths.

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother." - 1 John 4:7-21

This is amazing stuff!! These two paragraphs contain so many breadcrumbs along the trail of true happiness, it is hard NOT to find one's way.

The third thing I would like to show you is found in the opening paragraph of the Book of John.

"In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word (Jesus) was with God, and the Word (Jesus) was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." - John 1:1-5

Verse one states things pretty clearly - Jesus is God. And if Jesus is God, and God is love, I guess one could safely say that Jesus is love.

Here's another verse for you to consider. One that will really separate the wheat from the chaff.

"13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13

There's that word love again. And again, from the Greek, it is an "agape" love - that sacrificial, unconditional love. A question for you: Would you die in the place of one of your friends? Would you sacrifice YOUR life for the life of another? For someone you didn't like? For an enemy? The answer should be yes.

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:21

If we read this verse knowing that Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus IS God and that God is love, we could easily interpret that verse as "To live is love." Another question: Do I live my life loving others? Do I live my life lovingly towards all people? The answer, again, should be yes.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments." - John 14:15

And so we are left with this: The true secret of happiness is love. To find this love that everyone seeks these days we must first find God, love Him and then love others, unconditionally. Remember, Jesus IS God. Seek Him. Find Him. Love Him. Only then will you find true love and true happiness. I thought I knew what love was in my life before I found Jesus. But after I came to know Him, I found that I really did not know love at all. Ever since then however, that love we all search for has found me. It will find you too . . . if you let it.

There is nothing like experiencing true love. Open up your heart to Him today.

My Jesus, I Love Thee - Bart Millard

How cold is cold?

Thirteen below zero!! That was the temperature my car’s thermometer registered this past Monday. That's pretty cold!

I’ve experienced some colder temperatures in my lifetime. The coldest was 31 years ago when our daughter was born. It was -27 degrees Fahrenheit. -75 with the wind chill that day. Now dat be chilly! Still it DOES get colder than that.

The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was -128.6 degrees. That was July 21, 1983 at Vostok Station in Antarctica. I have no idea what -128 degrees feels like. I’m not sure I WANT to know either. Let’s just agree that -128 degrees is very, VERY cold.

In the book of Matthew, when Jesus is telling His disciples about what will happen at “The End of The Age” He says this in verse nine . . .

"12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold." - Matthew 24:12

First off, the Greeks have several words for our word love – eros, phileo, agape – so I looked up the Greek word used in this particular text. Honestly, I was expecting to see Phileo (a friendly love) but I didn’t. I saw the word Agape. Unconditional, sacrificial love.

Agape is the ultimate form of love and Jesus said in Matthew 24 that even those who feel Agape love for Jesus and others . . . their sacrificial, unconditional love will grow cold. Now THAT is cold!!

Picture the flame on a candle as it extinguishes, leaving everything in the room in total darkness. That kind of cold - a life without light and without love. Welcome to hell.

So how can we keep our love from going cold even when everything around us is falling apart? How can we keep our light from going out? The answer, of course, is Jesus.

"12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12

It is easy to find our eyes and hearts focused on other things these days. Even those of us who profess a faith in Christ get sucked away from our faith by living in a world that contradicts it. With all the civil unrest these days? People are actually chanting in the streets for others to be killed. Any love THOSE people might have had at one point in their lives for their fellow man surely has grown cold. Calling for others to be killed?

That is really the $1,000,000 question. Is our love for Jesus strong enough to withstand anything? Anything?

We Christians tend to answer "yes" to that question while we are sitting in our comfortable pews, listening to our pastor's Sunday morning sermon, but would our answer be the same if we found ourselves in an orange jumpsuit with a man in black standing behind us, holding a knife to our throats?

You may never face such a test, but it WILL happen to some. For other people the test of faith might be a phone call in the middle of the night. There has been an accident. For others it might be a diagnosis from a doctor. When things get dark in our lives what will we do? How will we react?
 

The answer is simple. When things get dark, get closer to The Light. When love grows cold get closer to The Fire. When situations in this world make you weak, get strength through Christ. And when times seem like things just couldn't get any worse, seek Jesus. When you are "drowning" in a world that doesn't know God, lift up your hand. He'll grab it.

So when it turns cold outside, remember the love of Jesus and the warmth of His embrace. Then warm yourself in His Word, ask for warmth in your prayers and rest in the knowledge that warmer days are coming for those who believe.

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30

Devotion

We have two of the most annoying cats you could possibly imagine. One of them, which I have lovingly nicknamed "The Scrawn," loves to get into things. He grooms himself so much that there is a bald spot on his back. And he likes to clean his nether regions right in the middle of the living room floor with his hind leg held high in the air for all to see. He also loves my wife's lap. Wherever it might be, there shall he be also (That almost sounded like a Bible verse!) He loves my wife's attention!

Our other cat is kind of slow, both physically and mentally. His favorite thing is to sneak up behind us when we are in the kitchen and just sit there, waiting for one of us to trip over him. His other favorite trick is to simply fall over. That must take REAL skill! But late in the evening, after we have put both cats in the basement for the night, he loves to sit at the top of the stairs and meow. He almost yowls, it's so loud. He doesn't like to be separated from my wife.

I tell you about our two cats and their affection for my wife because they have something that many of us, including myself, lack in our faith lives. Devotion.

When I think of the word devotion I always think of those little booklets you can get at church. Devotionals are those little daily, encouraging stories we can read each day. We read the three or four paragraphs and the Bible verse at the bottom of each page and think, "There, now I'm good to go for the day." That is NOT devotion.

The 1828 Webster Dictionary defines "devotion" magnificently. There are eight different usages of the word. Read them all and let the meanings soak in. Do we live as though we are devoted to our God?

1. The state of being dedicated, consecrated, or solemnly set apart for a particular purpose.
2. A solemn attention to the Supreme Being in worship; a yielding of the heart and affections to God, with reverence, faith and piety, in religious duties, particularly in prayer and meditation; devoutness.
3. External worship; acts of religion; performance of religious duties.
4. Prayer to the Supreme Being. A Christian will be regular in his morning and evening devotions.
5. An act of reverence, respect or ceremony.
6. Ardent love or affection; attachment manifested by constant attention; as, the duke was distinguished by his devotion to the king, and to the interest of the nation.
7. Earnestness; ardor; eagerness.
8. Disposal; power of disposing of; state of dependence.

How often should we be devoted to God? Five minutes each day? An hour?

Let us live our lives in devotion to God. Not by simply reading a few lines of encouraging text each morning, but by living out our daily lives, each day and every day, totally devoted to God.

Today, instead of picking up that romance novel, pick up the Bible and spend some time with God or with someone you love. Instead of turning on the television, leave it off and call someone on the phone and tell them you love them. Bring honor to God by devoting yourself to Him today.

God gives us these days as gifts to be used to bring Him glory. Let's do that, as long as it is called today.

"12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end." - Hebrews 3:12-14

If you do not have a devoted relationship with God, get one today. To do that we must repent of our sins, acknowledge that Jesus truly is who He said He is, the Son of God, and surrender your life, your heart, your devotion, to Him. He died for you, accepting the punishment for YOUR sins on Himself. How deoes one repay a gift like that? Devotion would be a good start.

Devotion by Hillsong United

Love

One would think that nearly everyone has experienced love at some point in their lives. Perhaps love was felt through family members or through that of a close friend. Think back to your childhood. Surely you can find love in those memories somewhere. Maybe you had a grandmother like mine who loved me without measure. A Christmas cookie and a glass of milk on Christmas eve, right before we went to bed. And when mom wasn't looking she'd say, 'Have another." Now that's love!

But what about those who have never felt loved or have experienced nothing but pain in their relationships. Do they even have a proper perspective when it comes to knowing exactly what love is? Do they have faith in love? Or has their life proven to them that love is fleeting or maybe even non-existent?

What about a person whose parents got divorced or whose tempers rage on a regular basis in their household. And what about the unwanted, abused child? Or the ones who are sold into slavery at a very young age? There are many different stories of unfulfilled love in the lives of people in this world.

There is part of an old Don Henley song Boys of Summer that goes like this. "I thought I knew what love was. What did I know? Those days are gone forever. I should just let 'em go but..."

That last word, "but . . " says much about how many of us feel about love. Even though we seem to keep getting burned every time we reach out in love to another human being, there is something deep inside each of us, a God-given hole in our heart, that longs to be filled with love. It is that void that keeps us longing for our heart-holes to be filled.

As a youth leader in my church I have seen my share of teenage "skyrocket" relationships. They blossom quickly but then fizzle out in a few weeks. Some last a few months. Rare are those teen relationships that last years. Sadly, I have seen high school girls "long to be loved" to the point where they give themselves away to a boy, simply as a means of "keeping her man." Many teens equate sex with love. It's not. Often, this "love" ends in a broken relationship with a baby being born into a "family" that never even existed. So strong is our desire to be loved.

I used to think I knew what love was. What did I know.

Since I became a born-again follower of Jesus, the level of love in my life has increased dramatically! To those who don't know Jesus, the feeling is kind of hard to describe. In baseball terms, it would be like a player who has languished in the minor leagues his entire career, thinking he's a big, important, professional baseball player. Then suddenly he gets called up to the big leagues. That moment when he walks out onto the field for the first time - a life-long dream coming true - is kind of what true love is like. That's kind of how it is to love, and to be loved, with Jesus in your heart. When you receive Christ into your heart and surrender your life to him, that is the moment when love explodes . . . and becomes truly unconditional. That is when "love" takes on a whole new meaning.

In this country we love many things. We love our spouses, we love our children, we love our friends and we love our pets. In Wisconsin, we love the Green Bay Packers. In Dallas, "How 'bout dem Cowboys!" And personally, I love warm chocolate chip cookies with a glass of milk. I love my Peanut M&M's (when my wife lets me eat them). Somehow, the "love" I have for my wife gets lessened by my "love" I have for a warm cookie, right out of the oven. That's not right. We need more words for love.

The Greeks have four words for love - eros, philia, storge and agape. The meanings are as follows:

eros - attraction, sensual desire, longing
philia - friendship, affectionate love, loyalty to friends, family, community
storge - affection, as in parents for offspring, relationships within the family
agape - love, unconditional love of God

Everyone, believer and non-believer alike, can experience the first three. Most are content with that. It never occurs to them that there might be something better - agape. That's the way it was for me. I had a wife and 2.3 kids (the .3 is our cat). I thought I knew what love was. What did I know.

Since surrendering all to Jesus, and living my life FOR him, I have been overwhelmed with agape love and the ability to love others that way - unconditionally. Before, truthfully, there were always conditions attached to love. Some were obvious, some conditions stayed hidden. But now, oh my. It's like rivers of living water.

I once asked a question of some high school students in a Bible study, "Who would you die for?" This one student paused and said, "Wow. I'm not sure. I can't think of anyone I'd actually die for." That statement was an all too obvious indicator of their lack of faith. This student had yet to receive the unconditional love of God's Holy Spirit into his heart. If he had, the list would have been rather lengthy.

Each day I wear a black wrist band. On it are written three words - I Am Second . It's a conversation starter really. Many people have asked me what it means. I usually say, "It means Jesus, and everyone else in my life, comes first. I am second. Have you ever experienced the love of Jesus Christ? His mercy and forgiveness? His unconditional love?" I love telling others about His unconditional love.

Love is a word we sometimes use too much or it is something we use for the wrong reasons. But love, the true and best meaning of the word love, is the unconditional love we receive in our hearts from above - the love of God.

May the love of Christ fill your heart and may you spread His love to all you see.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - Matthew 22:36-39 ESV