Have I told you that I love my wife? I’ve been in love with her a long time, and my love continues to grow as the years go by. I love her because she loves me. Her commitment to me is steadfast, and even when I stumble and say or do the wrong thing, her love for me never fades. I love her in the same way. I am committed to her, and she can feel secure in my love. I love her with all of my heart … or at least I want to. But there are times when my selfishness creeps in and I put my desires above hers. When that happens, I have to admit, regretfully, that I don’t love her with all of my heart. When that happens, it reveals that there is still a place reserved in my heart for myself. And when I realize that, I can choose to either keep that place for myself, or I can give it over to her so that I will love her with all of my heart.
Yesterday morning I was reading while I was putting in my cardio work on the elliptical, and a verse in Jeremiah 29 caught my attention. Verse 13 says “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Have you ever tried to search for God, for His wisdom and guidance, or His peace and comfort, but felt as though you just couldn’t get through to Him? Here is the answer: Search for Him with all of your heart.
This requires searching your heart to find those areas that you’ve reserved for yourself. And when you identify those areas, give them to God. Just as I have to give up those areas in my heart reserved for myself in order to love Cheri with all of my heart, I also have to do that in order to seek for God and find Him!
God wants us to find Him when we seek Him. And He had told us how we can do it … with all of our heart.
Good stuff, Joel Berry! When I look inward, I admit that I tend to be a little surprised at my own selfishness (which shows the true extent of my delusion). In order to seek Him with my whole heart it's necessary to expunge so much superfluous junk that has come to reside in dark, lazy corners. To purify, cleanse and passionately seek His face, it takes commitment, energy and intent. I agree that it would be the same in a thriving, marriage relationship.
ReplyDeleteThank you Missy. It's an issue we all deal with because of our humanity, and you're right, it takes effort and God's grace!
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