Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Falling in Love all Over Again


Do you remember when you first fell in love? I am not talking about your first schooldays crush. I am not talking about your first infatuation. I am not talking about the time when you saw that person and thought to yourself, “I would be happy if they were mine.” I am not referring to those moments in your life because those moments were not about love at all. Those moments were about you, and genuine love at its very core is not about you. It’s about others.

I am talking, however, about the first time you really fell in love. When you knew that you and the other person truly cared for each other. When you knew the two of you were willing to do anything for one another. When it was a joy to hear their voice on the phone and you anticipated the next time you would hear it as soon as you sadly had to say goodbye. When every song you heard reminded you of them, and when everything you read found a relationship to your relationship with them, and when every thought you had somehow included them, too. And then that love matured when you came to the point that you decided to make a lifetime commitment to this other person and become their spouse.

Marriages go through periods in which the feelings of courtship fade and the relationship needs to be renewed. Couples must keep dating. They must continue to express their feelings and love for each other in a variety of ways. Exciting new things sometimes become everyday regularities. The once unexpected blessings soon become normal and there is a danger of each person in the relationship taking the daily sacrifices of their companion for granted. But a committed relationship also leads to seasons of falling in love all over again. The more things in life you experience together, whether good or bad, the more that you realize your mate loves you. The loyalty of your spouse and their constant support and sacrificial giving will hopefully lead to you falling in love with them over and over again.

Spiritual renewal is very much the same. Inward revival is falling in love with Jesus all over again. We remember the first time the cross brought conviction and tears. We recall the overwhelming weight of our sin coupled with the unconditional love of our Father. Then we add in the suffering of the cross and the yearning of Savior for our souls and we conclude in our minds and hearts that we are in love with Jesus. Because Christianity is also a lifetime commitment, the more time we stay in the relationship the more opportunities we have to fall in love with Jesus. And His blood remains. And His blood cleanses. And we love Him all over again because of it.

Every person wants to be loved the way they were loved in the beginning. It seems natural then to conclude that God also would want the same. Every new day is an opportunity for us to look at our loved ones and be thankful for their presence in our lives. By their simply being there and loving us we can appreciate what they mean to us and fall deeper in love with them - one day at a time.

When you woke up today I hope your first though was Jesus. I hope your second thought was of a very special person here on earth who loves you. And I hope that each day that you live God will grant you the ability to keep falling in love with them over and over again.

“The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.’” – Jeremiah 31:3

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