OH HOW HE LOVES US!

Last night on the way home from Micah's soccer game we both began singing a song titled 'Oh How He Loves Us' by David Crowder. If you measured our appreciation for God's love by how loudly and off key we were singing...it was a BIG thank you from us to Him :)

It got me to thinking. God's love is what has changed my life. As I have focused on Him, His Love has overtaken many areas of my life. But how often do I really focus on His love FOR ME. I am usually recounting all the ways I missed the mark at the end of my day...frustrated with my sin and the sin of others. But, last night as I sang out a declaration of God's love for me, not my love for God, I was overwhelmed with gratefulness. I felt free. I felt this sense of pride that I am a child of the Creator of everyhting. This was mingled with humility that He lavishes love on me so generously. He wants me, others, to KNOW this love. And not just know about His love but instead to know the FULLNESS of His love. I thought of this verse:

Ephesians 3:17-19
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

These verses imply that to be filled with the FULLNESS of God, I have to somehow know this love that surpasses knowledge. I can not just know it with my mind. I would guess that He is wanting me to know His love with all my heart, mind, soul and strength in the same way that I am called to love Him. He is wanting me to know His love in a way that permeates every part of me, and then pour that love right back out into my relationship with Him and others.

I love that He always simplifies things for me. I seem to make things way too complicated.

By His grace I have been able to know this love in increasing measure by pursuing Him with great tenacity, particularly the last few years. Unlike normal relationships that fade in passion over time...ours has become more beautiful and romantic. He has chosen to love me, and I too have chosen to love Him. I have set aside time to spend with Him most every day. I have realized that by investing in my relationship with my precious Lord, I am investing in every person's life connected to mine. In many ways I am even investing His love into future generations. As I have chosen to be in love with Him, even when the feelings evade me, I have been changed by Him in the most mysterious ways. I am not the same person I was 10 years ago or even yesterday.

I have recently had a few things happen that normally would be emotional triggers for me. I would typically go into a bit of an emotional tail spin, seek God through the chaos of my feelings and then after crying in my closet for a few hours or days be settled under the shadow of His wing. Well, to my surprise, this did not happen. The emotions came in like a tide and then just as quickly drifted back. I was able to count the trial joy. I was able to bring my thoughts into captivity. I was able to look at the bigger picture. I was able to surrender those people and situations into the hands of God with abandon. I was able to trust Him realizing it was not for me to be squished under the weight of, but to cast it on the Lord. All of this, I believe was the result of me spending so much time with Him recently...choosing to focus on my love for Him and His love for me. This simple principal brought about all of these big victories!

He is the Answer to every problem I have. He is the Answer to every problem those I know have. There is no special formula or system that will bring lasting freedom. If there were we would make that system our God.

Many of the people in my life recently have been asking me some really tough questions. I have found that the only Answer I have is to seek Him, with everything. Nothing else will do. Whatever energy we may using on other things, stop and use that energy to know Him more.

To know Him more is to love Him more. To love Him more is to love our sin less. To love our sin less is to walk in more freedom. So simple. So difficult. It requires us to choose Him. Every day. Every minute. Every second. It requires us to set aside everything else we know and love and make Him the pearl of great cost.

I don't know how it works. But I know it works. My life is living proof.

I am more fired up to hold Him out to the world.

May my message always be to others....Christ is all! If I really love others more than I love myself then I will share this message with them. May I lift Him up so others will see Him, know Him and love Him...

...Because OH HOW HE LOVES US!