Speak of LOVE

Adore is a word that means -  "to worship."  from root words ad and orare, creating a compound word that means “to speak, to pray” – in short to open our mouth!  What does the overflow of your speech reveal about your heart’s affections?  I adored Bev, my late wife, not because I had to but because I truly loved her. I spoke often to her with tender words of affection. Words that spoke to her about how much she meant to me, the ways in which I found her delightful, were not kept in reserve. Words of adoration written in cards and shared in the course of everyday life were an important part of sustaining the affection in our marriage.

I adore Jesus, too.
I worship Him with my words, in song, in prayer, in daily speech. I hope that the overflow of my speech reveals a man devoted to His Lord and Savior beyond duty. As the song says I desire to have a “pure and holy passion” for Christ Jesus.

Can we honestly profess to adore Christ Jesus IF we never speak of Him or seldom speak to Him? I think not. We may be fond of Jesus without speaking of Him. We may trust Him as Savior without speaking of Him, but we cannot claim to adore Him and remain silent about Him.  IF we adore Him, we commune with Him.   "I will sing of the tender mercies of the Lord forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens." (Psalm 89:1-2, NLT)

Our love for the Lord must be cared for in much the same way that we nurture human love.  Relationships that were once full of love can die from simple neglect! Marriage can perish if another love is allowed to replace the primary one. In the same way our devotion to God will die if worship is not consistent, if we prioritize work or play over our worship, both corporate and personal.  

And yes, our devotion to Him can be replaced with other loves. So many temptations offer us pleasure and try to take His place at the center of life. In the book of the Revelation, Jesus laments the state of the Ephesian Christians. They broke His heart by allowing their fervent passion to cool.  They were dutifully religious, but without adoration! He says to them, "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." (Revelation 2:3-5, NIV)

When you hear that carol, "O Come, All Ye Faithful" I hope it will stir you to adoration! Open your mouth and give Him praise.  Sing and speak of His goodness. A word of caution is in order here. IF you don't adore Him, then don't try to convince yourself or someone else that you do with empty words or borrowed words!  Get the inside right before trying to appear to love and adore Him. 

Love is first and foremost a choice.  Yes, it is a feeling, an emotion, too.  There will be days of hurry, fatigue, or distraction when we will not feel much of a desire for God. In that moment, we remember that we have entered into a covenant of devotion and we guard our heart. The emotions will return. His love stirs our love. John says it this way – "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. … We love because he first loved us." (1 John 3:1, 4:19, NIV)

Meditate on this word from the Word.

“May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.
May you experience the love of Christ,
though it is so great you will never fully understand it.
Then you will be filled with the fullness of life
and power that comes from God.”  
(Ephesians 3:17)

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O Come, All Ye Faithful
(Martina McBride invites us to come to adore Him)

O come all ye faithful,
joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels.

O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing choirs of angels,  

Sing in exultation,
O sing all ye citizens of heav'n above.
Glory to God,
All glory in the highest.

 O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,
born this happy morning;
Jesus to Thee be all glory giv'n.
Word of the Father now in flesh appearing.

O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!

 John Wade © Public Domain