Over the past six weeks, we have been on a journey together. We’ve come before the throne of God in Isaiah 6, gazed into the seemingly everlasting expanses of the universe- that God spoke into existence- and sat in the lap of our Father in heaven. As we have viewed His tremendous attributes, we’ve seen a combination of size, strength, knowledge, holiness and tenderness have been awe inspiring and humbling. And through it all, we have heard Him say to us over and over and over again, “I love you.” It doesn’t always sound, or feel the same way, for love is infinite in depth and creativity, yet it always speaks to the core of who we are.
In recent weeks, words from the Lover of our souls have mirrored those of the ones He spoke to Peter: “Do you love Me?”… “Do you truly love Me more than….?” Words are inadequate to answer this question because love is a lifestyle that flows from a filled heart. In many cases, our hearts have been “weighed” and have been found “wanting.” God has examined the corners of our lives and “called our bluffs” by saying, “I know your deeds…you are neither hot nor cold…and it is making me ill.”
The One who has loved us Fully, with a completeness beyond comprehension, has asked for our love back in return. His love has removed our sin from us as far as the east is from the west SO THAT we could live without fear of the consequences and with the power to leave our lives of sin. This CRAZY LOVE has come at a great cost…the price of His only Son. And yet He has still given it fully and wholeheartedly.
The question is: How will we respond to it? Will we joyfully learn to live a life of reciprocating His love, or will we redefine, simplify and reduce love to something smaller- something that costs far less- and return that to Him, in the name of love? When we do this, we are following the patterns of the Pharisees, who “loved to be seen by men” and “honored God with their lips” but whose “hearts were far from Him.”
Jesus Christ wants ALL of us, not just parts that are easy to give. Yet too often we withhold from Him the very things He must have in order to continue to set us free to be who He created us to be. When we come to Him, we ask for His “first-fruits,” but when it comes time for giving the love back, He gets our leftovers. I don’t know if there is anything more painful to a lover than to receive a gift that is missing the heart.
It would be easy to miss the entire point of this study and assume that God just wants us to try harder. To do more. To prove our love for Him with good deeds. However, the sum of infinite deeds can never equal love. Yet the smallest piece of genuine love can produce infinite deeds. This is what He desires from us. And that is why we must humbly come to Him asking for a miracle. Every day we must beg for a larger heart. One that desires Him above all else- that genuinely loves Him back, in a crazy way- and that will overflow into a life of tangible service to those God loves. When this happens, we will be experiencing the joy of our salvation. There is nothing more fulfilling in the universe.
Pete