CONSUMING LOVE

By ​Joann Bishard Moore, 7^th August 2018

Do you remember falling in love? The overwhelming sense of joy, the compassion, the astounding desire to want to be with the one you love? Something in your heart sparked the moment you felt love for that special someone, whether that be your future spouse, the love of a child or someone who meant the world to you. It’s overwhelming. Incomprehensible. Your thoughts and your time were consumed with that person. There is nothing that you’d rather do than to be with that person and make them happy, complete. True love in its simplest form. There is nothing quite like it.

It’s Monday morning and once again I am praying and asking God for diligence in my life. Mondays usually start out pretty decent and as the week progresses with lack of sleep and hormones askew, things seem to taper off and at times I feel like I’m barely crossing the finish line to another week. Then Monday rolls around again and I’m determined to make this one better than last. “Lord, help me find balance this week,” my usual Sunday before I go to bed cry. A friend asked me what she could pray for me this week, my immediate response “diligence”, consistent in doing what I should be doing and spending time with Jesus. But as I was pondering that this morning, I imagined myself each day sitting, talking and spending time with Jesus like a sort of Martian alien, going through the motions. Where was the passion? Where was the heart of the matter? Where was the all-consuming love that brought me to my knees in worship and adoration for the one who loves me beyond any comparison?

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

Psalm 63:3

His love is greater than life itself; life in all its glorious moments and unnerving trials. His love is greater than ALL of it, every joyous occasion, every breathtaking experience, every heart wrenching moment – ALL OF IT! His love is all- consuming, if we allow it. It is the love Solomon writes of in the Song of Solomon. A love so deep, so wide, so engrossing, it captures your heart, it encapsulates you, it captivates.

Obedience is one thing, but falling in love and experiencing the immense love of our Savior is something completely different. A love that moves you. A love that draws you into His presence. A love that says, “I am His and He is mine” and nothing in this world will separate us. A love that sparks compassion and desire, not rote actions.

So, today as we go about our Monday, I pray that you experience God’s great love for you this week. May He saturate you, your circumstances, your being with His all-consuming, powerful, magnificent, wonderful love and compassion for you. And may you fall in love with your Savior. May His love reach to your heart and change you and instead of thinking we need to spend time with God, we can’t help but want to be with the greatest Love of our life – there is nothing in this world that would separate us from being with the One we love.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ

Ephesians 3:17-18

Today, let’s ask God to help us fully grasp the love He has for us and watch our hearts and our lives grow even closer to His.