Madly in LOVE.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3: 16-19
I don't know how close I've been to madly in love, but I've gotten enough glimpses of it to know love makes you do crazy things. I've seen depictions of this crazy love in movies and read about it in books. And I've seen this notion that if you truly love someone you would walk to the end of the earth for them. I have never walked to the end of the earth, and with my athletic abilities I'm not sure I could, but I've seen in myself an ability to do things I didn't think I ever could or would if it weren't in the name of love.
Don't deny the fact that you know that girl who would pretend like she loved cars or sports or The Hobbit in order to prove her love for the guy. Or maybe you have seen the guy at the store browsing for the perfect gift for his girl when he really has no idea what to buy. Aimlessly that guy searches until the sales clerk saves the day and finds something he can give to "show" his love. And I'm certain that this idea of doing crazy things for love is made even more evident around the season of Christmas.
The classic example, parents running around like nuts trying to get exactly the present their child expects to see under the tree. Why else would someone wake up at the crack of dawn to stand in huge lines on Black Friday for a baby doll or stop at millions of stores looking for the newest Nintendo system that's out of stock, but for love? That's "to the end of the earth" right? Facing crowds, knocking down customers, forking over full paychecks, a parent wouldn't stop to prove their love for their kid. And these things, that would normally seem crazy, just seem natural to a mom or dad who wants to give the best for their child.
Gift giving isn't the only way a parent or boyfriend or wife or child shows their love for another but it's the most obvious example of sacrifice. When you give a gift to another, you lay down some piece of yourself; time, money, patience, thought, for the good of another. Whatever the sacrifice we make in order to give, we do it for love. And love in so many ways makes us more willing to make the effort.
Our sacrifices to put gifts under the tree, only cost us small pieces of ourselves. And yet, even as we opened gifts and I browsed instagramed photos of gifts my friends received this morning, I thought to myself, "wow, someone went out of their way to pick out that gift"! I recognized even the smallest sacrifices people made. And in my mind as I saw people stand in endless lines over the weekend and brave reckless crowds, I thought, "you must have some crazy love to be showing to go through this much effort". But today, I stopped for a second and thought about crazy love. I have no idea what that really means. If I'm shocked by the price or elegance of a material gift imagine how shocked I'd be if I heard one of my friends say they were having a baby, who would live and preach the beautiful good news and then die to save the world. You can imagine I'd consider that beyond crazy.
But isn't that exactly what we celebrate today? A son who lived humbly as a human and died a savior so that we might know love and everlasting life. It makes my sacrifices look pathetic. And to be honest, it makes my expectations of love look a little weak too! Think about the crazy love God must have had for you. He didn't just stand in a really long line, or browse the Internet for a perfect deal. He sent himself to earth so that we might know the ultimate form of love. It's crazy, really crazy, but that's the point I guess, when you love someone you'll do some crazy things.
I've read before many times that love is wanting the absolute best for another without any regard for what that means for yourself. God, He wants the absolute best for us. And there's no greater proof of that then Him sending His son!
So as you untie that last bow or hang up the last gift, realize the sacrifice someone made to show their love for you and contemplate for a second how that small offering is only a mere example of the love and sacrifice our Savior has made for you. The end of the earth, is nothing compared to how far God would walk for you to know His love.
The Christmas season may be coming to a close, but the love of our King has just been renewed in our hearts. You may not be madly in love with everyone but that doesn't mean you can't love everyone madly. They say love makes you do crazy things, well God loved us in the craziest way possible. So be willing to be a little crazy in the name of love! And recognize God in the midst of all that crazy!
Ephesians 3: 16-19
I don't know how close I've been to madly in love, but I've gotten enough glimpses of it to know love makes you do crazy things. I've seen depictions of this crazy love in movies and read about it in books. And I've seen this notion that if you truly love someone you would walk to the end of the earth for them. I have never walked to the end of the earth, and with my athletic abilities I'm not sure I could, but I've seen in myself an ability to do things I didn't think I ever could or would if it weren't in the name of love.
Don't deny the fact that you know that girl who would pretend like she loved cars or sports or The Hobbit in order to prove her love for the guy. Or maybe you have seen the guy at the store browsing for the perfect gift for his girl when he really has no idea what to buy. Aimlessly that guy searches until the sales clerk saves the day and finds something he can give to "show" his love. And I'm certain that this idea of doing crazy things for love is made even more evident around the season of Christmas.
The classic example, parents running around like nuts trying to get exactly the present their child expects to see under the tree. Why else would someone wake up at the crack of dawn to stand in huge lines on Black Friday for a baby doll or stop at millions of stores looking for the newest Nintendo system that's out of stock, but for love? That's "to the end of the earth" right? Facing crowds, knocking down customers, forking over full paychecks, a parent wouldn't stop to prove their love for their kid. And these things, that would normally seem crazy, just seem natural to a mom or dad who wants to give the best for their child.
Gift giving isn't the only way a parent or boyfriend or wife or child shows their love for another but it's the most obvious example of sacrifice. When you give a gift to another, you lay down some piece of yourself; time, money, patience, thought, for the good of another. Whatever the sacrifice we make in order to give, we do it for love. And love in so many ways makes us more willing to make the effort.
Our sacrifices to put gifts under the tree, only cost us small pieces of ourselves. And yet, even as we opened gifts and I browsed instagramed photos of gifts my friends received this morning, I thought to myself, "wow, someone went out of their way to pick out that gift"! I recognized even the smallest sacrifices people made. And in my mind as I saw people stand in endless lines over the weekend and brave reckless crowds, I thought, "you must have some crazy love to be showing to go through this much effort". But today, I stopped for a second and thought about crazy love. I have no idea what that really means. If I'm shocked by the price or elegance of a material gift imagine how shocked I'd be if I heard one of my friends say they were having a baby, who would live and preach the beautiful good news and then die to save the world. You can imagine I'd consider that beyond crazy.
But isn't that exactly what we celebrate today? A son who lived humbly as a human and died a savior so that we might know love and everlasting life. It makes my sacrifices look pathetic. And to be honest, it makes my expectations of love look a little weak too! Think about the crazy love God must have had for you. He didn't just stand in a really long line, or browse the Internet for a perfect deal. He sent himself to earth so that we might know the ultimate form of love. It's crazy, really crazy, but that's the point I guess, when you love someone you'll do some crazy things.
I've read before many times that love is wanting the absolute best for another without any regard for what that means for yourself. God, He wants the absolute best for us. And there's no greater proof of that then Him sending His son!
So as you untie that last bow or hang up the last gift, realize the sacrifice someone made to show their love for you and contemplate for a second how that small offering is only a mere example of the love and sacrifice our Savior has made for you. The end of the earth, is nothing compared to how far God would walk for you to know His love.
The Christmas season may be coming to a close, but the love of our King has just been renewed in our hearts. You may not be madly in love with everyone but that doesn't mean you can't love everyone madly. They say love makes you do crazy things, well God loved us in the craziest way possible. So be willing to be a little crazy in the name of love! And recognize God in the midst of all that crazy!
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