Looking for the limits

Could I actually claim to love my wife if I were constantly looking for the limits of her patience? “What is the minimal amount I have to do to stay married? How many nights can I stay out with friends before she objects? How little can I spend on gifts for her? How much attention can I give to other women without getting her angry enough to leave me?” Unless you’re clueless about love, you see the folly in that kind of thinking. Love isn’t about minimums! And yet, that line of thinking is quite common among those who say that they love the Lord.

People ask me questions like:
“Pastor, can I go hang out with old friends in bars and be a Christian?”
“Do I tithe on my net income?”
“Can I watch movies full of profanity, violence, or sex and be a Christian?”
“How often do I have to go to church?” Such questions miss the point of loving Christ entirely! They reveal a misunderstanding of what it means to know the Lord. A person who is looking for the edge cannot seriously claim to be passionately in love with Christ any more than I could honestly claim to love Bev while spending day after day doing what I wanted to do and ignoring her. Questions about minimally acceptable holiness reflect a religious spirit, rather than a love relationship! When questioning Christian behavior, the ‘why’ is equally important to the ‘what’ and that cannot be answered apart from love which is always to be our core motive that shapes every decision!

The prophet Hosea was given a most difficult assignment by the Lord. His life was to be an object lesson of love as a verb, an action word! Take a look. "The first time God spoke to Hosea he said: “Find a whore and marry her. Make this whore the mother of your children. And here’s why: This whole country has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to me, God.” Hosea did it. He picked Gomer daughter of Diblaim. She got pregnant and gave him a son." (Hosea 1:2-3, The Message) Even after he loved her, Gomer ran off from Hosea to seek other lovers! The prophet, however, did not turn against her. Instead, he went and found her and brought her home again.

Later in his prophecy, Hosea records God’s word about His people who look for the limits, who love other gods. God’s anger, like that of any husband, is real and deep over the unfaithfulness of those who wandered from Him. But, He was also incredibly loving! "I will punish (Israel) for all those times when she burned incense to her images of Baal, when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out to look for her lovers but forgot all about me,” says the Lord.
“But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt. When that day comes,” says the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’ instead of ‘my master.’" (Hosea 2:13-16, NLT)

Disciple, Jesus spent very little time defining the edges of acceptable behavior for those who follow Him. Instead He called us to something better. " ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NLT) To understand this as a permissive love is to misunderstand the basics of God and His nature. Loving Him and being loved by Him is an all encompassing love that draws us into a holy life, dedicated to Him.

What must never be forgotten is that love only flourishes when it is freely received and freely given! Any lesser motive quickly reduces love to a duty, turns the covenant into a contract. Hear the Savior’s words and let them guide you to greater intimacy with Him, starting today.
"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." (Revelation 2:2-5, NIV)
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Lord, the light of Your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness shining;
Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us;
Set us free by the truth You now bring us.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine.
Fill this land
With the Father's glory;
Blaze, Spirit, blaze.
Set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow.
Flood the nations
With grace and mercy;
Send forth Your Word,
Lord, and let there be light.

Lord, I come to Your awesome presence.
From the shadows into Your radiance;
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness.
Shine on me, shine on me.

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness,
So our faces display Your likeness;
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirror'd here, may our lives tell Your story.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Lord The Light Of Your Love

Kendrick, Graham© 1987 Make Way Music (Admin. by Music Services)CCLI License No. 810055