Two Way Street

Lately, I've been reading a lot of books about love. They have been extremely insightful, and taught me a lot about what a healthy relationship rooted in Jesus should look like. I'm not quite sure why I've been fascinated with this subject recently-maybe it's because I'm in a relationship myself, or that new engagements keep popping up on Facebook, or I'm on Pinterest way too much, or simply because I'm a woman and we are hardwired to connect romantically. 

However, though I've been seeking counsel about romantic relationships, I've discovered a lot more about seeking a healthy relationship with Christ than I ever could have imagined. 

I believe that there are many misconceptions within the church about falling in love with Christ. We are taught from the very early days of Sunday school that "For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only son..." (John 3:16) This revelation about God's relentless, merciful love for us is very comforting and TRUE.

But authentic, steadfast love is not a one way street. Love is a call to action. Though it can bring about the feeling of incredible joy, everlasting love requires people to make a constant choice to pursue one another and live unselfishly. Love as a verb is the glue that holds marriages together. It's what I hope to give to my husband one day. 

However, love is also what we are required to show Christ. Jesus loves his children-which means that every single day He never stops choosing to show us grace, mercy, and forgiveness. We are incapable of displaying the perfect love that He offers, however, we can still pursue Him.

So often, we think of Christ's love towards us without acknowledging that in order for us to have a relationship with him, we are required to love Him in return. And this requires us to faithfully pursue Him. Love is an action. It's so easy to become swept up in busyness and forget that there is a Creator that wants to have a loving relationship with His children. A relationship that requires us to take action. 

We have a responsibility to pursue the One who has so dutifully pursued us. How do we expect to have a lasting, authentic relationship with Christ if we are constantly remaining passive? 

A man will dutifully pursue the woman of his desire. In the same way, a woman will emotionally give everything she has to the man of her dreams. How come we so often expect our relationship with Christ to be any different? 

I am so guilty of this, and believe that we all are to a certain extent. Thankfully, Jesus' love is not conditional. He doesn't ever stop relentlessly pursuing His bride even when we ignore Him. But, when we give 100% to Him, and put in the effort to maintain a better relationship with our Creator, He acknowledges and blesses that. 

I challenge you to truly surrender to Jesus, and experiment with giving Him the time and the effort you would give someone with which you were in a romantic relationship. Our human nature will never allow us to love as perfectly as Jesus loves us, but that doesn't mean we have to stop trying. We shouldn't give up on Jesus just because of our inadequacy. Rather, we should pursue Him more so that His perfect plan can be truly revealed through our imperfect lives. 

It's time to show Jesus some love. Authentic love is a two way street.

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19