Violent Love

I just thought of something....

You know when you are perfectly and incandescently happy and in-love with someone? It doesn't matter what ANYONE says, you love them and you are going to be with them no matter what it takes. Right? More than that, this person says "jump" and its your every pleasure to do so for them. They want to move away to another state, you're there! No matter what. Your friends and family could give you every reason not to, even to the point of disowning you but it matters not because you are fantastically in love with this person. Right? You would do anything at all for them and even more just to be with them and keep them in your life, loving you back. Even to death, in most cases. Isn't that right? Very real love is such a violent thing, isn't it?

But this poses just one question for me: Why aren't we like this with God?!

Ahh, well God is love, is He not? But more than that, we claim to be perfectly in love with Him, even to the point of death. However, our hearts and our actions have something very different to say. You see, because words mean absolutely nothing unless your heart follows. Where your treasure is, there your heart is also, right? Well, is our treasure really in God? We say it is. We'd like to think it is. But is it really? Why do we say we love God but do not act like it? Why do we say we love God and yet still insist on having our own way as if entitled to anything at all? Truth be told, if we really loved God, if we were truly Christians, then we lost our lives at the cross and are no longer desiring anything for ourselves but to give everything inside of us to loving God and glorifiying His Name.

But that's not how we live is it? So are we really Christians then? Do we even love God at all? I don't know. That's something you will need to figure out between you and God.

This life is nothing. God is everything. What kind of love is this that would say, "your sin is Mine, I'll take it to the grave." And yet we give Him nothing. We can offer Him no less than all of our lives, and that isnt even enough, but its all He wants. He is so for real. He has given everything. But we can't even give up an hour of TV for Him. Or whatever it may be. He asks for ALL of us, but we can't even give Him an hour of this meaningless life. So again, I ask you, are we really even Christians at all? Seeing how Christian implies you be like Christ, I'd be willing to say that most times we are not. Not in this culture. Not if we live just like this world. I mean, we have everything already, what do we need God for? Do we really love Him? Or do we love ourselves and think that a prayer to say "sorry" is going to "get us to Heaven"?? Well it doesn't work that way. Why? Because God has said, "The kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force (Mt 11:12)." The love of God is a very violent thing. The wisdom and the love of God was to put His very Son on the cross. What do you think He will do to you then? If He didn't even spare His own Son, what will He do to those who claim Christ with their mouths and yet live every moment to reject and rebel against Him by living for themselves, when they've claimed to die?! Wow.....It isn't about gifts, works, words, or any of those things. It isn't about how well we know scipture compared to the next, it isn't about preaching or teaching or how "spiritual" we percieve ourselves to be. It's about actually loving God and loving others to the fullest extent. It isn't even about us. Its about Him.

Love is a very violent thing. Do we really love God, or do we just say we do because we think that's what will save us? wow....