May 21st, 2020

​I was out on a run the other day in a nearby neighborhood. It's a fairly new neighborhood. It has one of those model homes where people can walk in and out and get a feel for the house and what it might be like to live in that community.

I got to thinking, that's what love is really. When we love someone we open up our hearts and let someone come in and take a good look around. No, really, we say - just go explore. Look in the closets and sit on that couch and you can even go up in the attic if you want.

Love says I'm not afraid of what you'll discover. Love says I trust you're going to see beauty and possibility in every corner - even in corners where most of the world wouldn't dare venture. Love sees order where everyone else sees things all out of sorts.

Love trusts that once someone walks out of that model home, they are going to say "I'll take it."

I think we forget that sometimes when it comes to our loving relationship with God. So much of the focus on that relationship is how much God loves us. Jesus loves us yes I know, for the bible tells me so. No matter what, we're encouraged, don't ever forget how much God loves you.

Here's the other thing you shouldn't forget. God created us to love him. God created us so we could take a walk through his heart, deeply explore it, and say "I'll take it." So much is made about how much God knows about our hearts, but I think we should talk more about the secrets we discover on God's heart.

I think maybe the best time to take a walk through the model home of God's heart is when we're tempted to look down on someone else's heart. When we get to a place where we're tempted to think or act unlovingly toward someone, it might be a good time to pause. Pause and say I'm going to go love God for a minute and explore the secrets of his heart.

What God's heart will say is I love that person you're about to not love. I love them and I want the best for them and I need you to be the one to reveal that secret. So go reveal it.

That's the beauty of love isn't it? When you discover it, when you live in it, you're suddenly more equipped to share it.