LOVE
“You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.”
—John 15:16 (The Message)
In our relationships we seek those high points. I’ll give you an example. How much do we spend on weddings? We can even spend the new couple into debt even before they get started so that they can have that “perfect day” with the “perfect” moment. But we all know that love was born long before that moment in the wedding and will continue for years afterward. Yet taking our cues from the movies, we accentuate the “big moments” of life. What sits with us are the little moments in life’s ups and downs and growing in love and intimacy both in our relationships with our spouses, friends, and family, as well as with our God. Our faith is not just a onetime thing nor can it be expressed by a simple montage, but it is in a life with God growing in a love and intimacy that is larger than anything imaginable. Because we have often said or heard, “do we need to be in relationship with God? I can accept Jesus on my death bed and be just fine.” We think we can just wait but if we do that we miss out on so much more. Just like we do by only looking at our life as a montage. We miss so of much of a life transformed by God’s love if we wait to say yes and grow in intimacy with our God.
We talk a lot in the church about God’s love. And today is no different as we talk about how God’s love helps us to stand strong. The truth is that like the movie our love story is not all about the high points. Our love with God is not one snippet or based only on our mountain top experiences, it is based on our relationship with God.
