Colossians 3:2, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Mark
12:30, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength;
this is the first
commandment. And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandments greater than
these.” Hymn
246, “All my springs arise in Jesus – I have found Him whom I love; He
has kindly looked upon me, fixed my heart on things above. He is chief
among ten
thousand, my Redeemer, Saviour, Friend. In His eyes I have found favor,
loved with love which knows no end.” We
just sang a love song, rejoicing in what we have in Jesus! I just love
the words! “Come to me, my Well-beloved, gloom departs when Thou art
near – Source
and fount of living waters, joy and health and hope and cheer.” It’s a
song of thankfulness! Do you want to go to heaven because it’s the
better option, or because the Bridegroom of your soul, who is preparing a
place for you, is there? Growing up at home,
my sister and I made lists of qualities a candidate for a husband would
have to have. As we got older, sometimes we compromised on this list. Of
course, then I went into the Work! Jesus, the Bridegroom of our soul –
the more we get to know Him, the better
it gets! There’s no need to compromise when you have the best! He’s the
answer to every heartache, He rejoices in our victories, and He helps us
overcome in our defeats. He understands! He was tempted as we are! Isaiah
61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath
anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He hath sent me to
bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to
them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and
the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint
unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of
righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.” It
just gets better and better! He can enrich our lives like no other, and
that extends into eternity! I’m really humbled by the love of Christ!
How do you
return a love like that? I John 3:18, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” I
John 4:10, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us,
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God
so loved us,
we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If
we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in
us.” John
14:23, “Jesus answered and said unto him, 'If a man love Me, he will keep
My words and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and
make Our
abode with him.'” John 14:15, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” The way we return the love He’s shown us is in obeying Him. He loves our
soul, and He wants us to be a part of the bride of Christ. He wants us
to love our neighbor. Bring the spirit to Him each day of, “Not my will
but Thine be done!” Be willing to ask for
His help! Luke
7:37, “And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she
knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an
alabaster box of ointment,
and stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet
with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His
feet, and anointed them with the ointment.” Luke 7:47, Jesus said, “Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much!” This woman didn’t have much to bring but she had a precious thing, so she brought it to show her thankfulness to Him. Our heart is all we have to offer for what He’s done for us! I’m thankful that how we show our gratitude is to bring our heart to Him.
My desire is to really get to know my Bridegroom, and show my gratitude to Him. |