Why Do You Love?

I was casually looking through the "Sacred Romance" workbook by Eldredge and Curtis, there are little excerpts from other authors and little "windows" they call them to inspire thought on God.  As I was reading an idea was sparked.  "Hey, those 'windows' really work."

We all know God is supposed to be the most important thing, the first commandment it to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.  And I know we've all felt that we don't follow through with our part of the bargain.  I remember as a child thinking " I love my mom WAY more than I love God."  I was scared that by loving my mom more, who was real and tangible, would send me to Hell.  When I got married, I thought it was impossible to ever love my God more than my husband, or my first born child.  How can the love for God be as real and tangible as a person you can feel, touch, and speak audibly with?  I'm now beginning to touch the surface of this kind of love, which is so deep I don't think I'll ever be able to wrap my human heart around it.

Why do you love those people?  Everything you love about anyone is what Jesus is.  I love my mom because she cares for me, loves me unconditionally, she disciplined me when I needed it, she was my life source.  I love my husband because he makes me feel beautiful, he brings out the beauty God created in me, he romances me, he excites me and invites me into an adventure bigger than myself.  I love my children because they are mine, they look at me with dependence, with love, and that I am the center of their universe, and they accept me no matter what I look like without makeup and a shower. 

Now, why do you love Jesus, what is he to you?  I love Jesus because he invites me to beauty, He draws me into love that is unconditional, He disciplines with love and not condemnation, He is my life source, He is the source of all adventure, I am His, I am dependant on Him, and still, I am the center of His universe.  Everything He did was for us!  Remember, we were the joy set before Him that enabled Him to endure the cross!(Hebrews 12:2) 

If you are having a hard time loving some abstract thought of a savior, think of why you love who you do, because all that you cling to, and all that you love on this Earth, is everything that Jesus is and it is everything He has already offered for you.