This seems like a no brainer!  I’m sure many people are thinking, “Why not?”, “Of course!” “What a ridiculous question…”  Perhaps, maybe…

I ask this question as a former hopeless romantic, who is now just a romantic at heart.  I know how it feels to be madly in love…  To love against reason, against hope, against wisdom…against God.

Yeah, that’s where I am going.  I am wondering, if we are truly believers of Christ, who love God with all our heart, mind, body and soul…can we truly love another madly?  I think not.  What do you make of this admonition by Jesus?

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

This tells me that even romantic love, between a husband and his wife must meet its ceiling under the love they should have for God.  Our love for God is the only love that is righteous without limits…  It is the only flame that can burn in a bush without consuming it…  But unrestrained carnal love is a dangerous hazard to those who love like that, and the object of their love.

God stole gained my heart many years ago…  I can’t tell you when.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to please Him.  The only person who came close to Him in my heart was my own earthly father.  And then the first love that I dishonoured God for.  The one that God went to war over to redeem me in 2002.

God is a jealous Lover.  He is a protective Father and a conquering King.  Those who are His know how much He watches over our hearts, to keep them pure and responsive to Him.  He doesn’t want another contender for our devotion, honour and adoration.  Any ungodly soul that seeks our hearts will meet His firm opposition and rebuke.

So though we are to love, even passionately, our love has reason, self-control and wisdom.  Our love is submitted to God, containable but powerful.  Love ceases to be about us, which is usually the case in a wild, reckless, lustful relationship.  Such ‘love’ appears to satisfy but is powerless to fulfil or even please the deep desires of our beloved.

However, when God is enthroned in our hearts, we learn of His gracious love, and are able to truly give love for all seasons.  A love that defies the wisdom of the world, while honouring the Wisdom of God.  A love that endures temporal unhappiness for eternal joy.  A love that is deeply spiritual, as well as emotional, physical and mental.

My husband knows that God is my first and greatest love, and will always be.  Our love is contained within His Wisdom, where it is defined, empowered and liberated.  It may not feel as wild as the uninhibited worldly love…  But it protects with faithfulness, enduring all things, believing in God, the Authour and Finisher of our Faith.

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