All in Love
In 1961 the Broadway show Carnival opened, its theme song, Love Makes the World go ’Round by Bob Merrill, an immediate hit. Such legends of my day as Paul Anka, the Everly Brothers, Bing Crosby, and Johnny Mathis included it in their repertoires. Of course it was about romantic love: “a silver song, making the earth whirl softly”.
I think I finally got it! How could it have taken so long? While reading through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian believers, I came to the familiar chapter on love, so familiar that I decided to skip straight to the next chapter. The Holy Spirit must have prompted me to stop and read through the famous ‘love chapter’ for the umpteenth time. That’s when I finally got it—love never ends!
My home church has undertaken reading the Bible through in a year. After reading now for eleven months, I’ve noticed a theme running through the Bible. God’s passionate desire is for everyone to know Him.
The day Drew moved out followed ten months of limbo. It had been an awful day. The kids cried themselves to sleep. It was late when Dana climbed into bed. She sat propped up on her side of the double bed and opened her Bible. She hadn’t planned to read Romans 8, but the words were there for her that night.
Eight months had passed since Drew’s and Dana’s ten-year marriage started to unravel. Uncharacteristically, Drew accompanied Dana and the children to church one Sunday morning. It was Valentine’s Day.
Drew and Dana began marriage counseling with a Christian counselor soon after their move. Drew finally admitted to having an extramarital affair. As devastating as the news was, Dana expressed the willingness to forgive him. Her commitment to keep their family intact held steady. Drew wanted a separation, but he took no action to move out.
Following Drew’s confession that he didn’t love her, Dana’s feelings continued to reel. She felt lost at sea one moment and anchored by faith the next. Soon thereafter, Drew received his new job assignment that required moving fifteen hundred miles away.
Dana felt sweet anticipation as the day began. It was her 10th wedding anniversary. Drew, her husband, was home from completing some out-of-town professional training for his new job. The last few months they’d only spent a few weekends together so she was excited about celebrating today.
Do you know someone who doesn’t know how to listen? I became acquainted with a kind man who worked at a grocery store I frequented. Every time he saw me, he would stop what he was doing and head my way. For the next ten minutes (at least) he would tell me all about what he had been doing, about his family, or about anything that came to mind. He loved to talk, but he didn’t know how to listen. I once told my husband, “I know a lot about that man, but he knows nothing about me.”
God is love (1 John 4:8). God and love are synonymous, like God and good. God always loves because He is love. We can’t know true love apart from God since love comes from God (1 John 4:7). Whatever love we experience from others is a reflection of God’s love. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).
A simple truth received is often the “bringer” of God’s miraculous power in the life of anyone!
Disappointment—that which we experience when expectations or wishes are not met. All of us face numerous disappointments throughout life—someone says something that hurts, a project fails, an illness interrupts plans…
While cutting my son’s long, thick locks, I thought, I’m glad he doesn’t ride through the woods or he might get tangled up like Absalom. Do you remember the story?
I have a friend who is gifted with thoughtfulness. Every time I see her, she has a little gift for me.
