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!
1 John 3:1
Now that you’ve been not only bitten, but smitten, tell me
the essential nature of the Love Bug. Hard to put a finger on it, isn’t it?
Don’t be surprised. It is as elusive as God Himself. Oh, we think we know what phileo (brotherly love) is until we hurt
our friend’s feelings. We take a stab at eros
(romantic love) and frequently miss the mark with our spouse by a mile. We moms
specialize in storge (family love)
until some unlovely relative shows up. But agape
(holy love), I can barely grasp its magnitude. It has so many facets.
Think of a diamond with its many facets, fifty-seven to be
specific, cut precisely to change the plane of reflected light to give it its
brilliance. An uncut diamond is dull and lifeless—minus facets there is no
light reflected.
Think of the Hope
Diamond in all its steely blue beauty—google it to see for youself. Not
only is the blue color rare, but when researchers took blue diamonds into a
dark room and exposed them to ultraviolet light, they emitted a fiery red glow
unique to each particular diamond.
What a way to picture God’s kind of love! It is rare. It is
of great value—imagine the price of the Hope Diamond’s 45.52 carats compared
with my 0.25 carat engagement ring. Its many facets reflect the incoming light
off its inner beauty to engulf your entire persona in brilliance. Its unique ember-red
glow warms your soul and sets your spirit on fire, emanating love outward to
those watching you live in love.
God has lavished all that agape love on you, so lavish a
love that you may be called one of His children. I pray for you then: that you, being rooted and established in
love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long
and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses
knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God
(Ephesians 3:17-19).
Nancy P
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