Living Life for Christ Alone

"Where are you?"   She hears, but is afraid to come out of the shadows, for she knows that if she walks into the light that is inseparable from the One who called her, her sin and imperfections will be exposed.  "What if He doesn't love me anymore?"  She asks herself, fearing that all she's known of Him will be proven untrue. His footsteps come closer. He calls her by name. His voice filled with tender love.  His light shines on the trees around her, maker her shadowy hiding place a little more conspicuous.  She remembers the many times He has held her in the past as she wept over her pain. His kindness towards her fills her mind, and she knows that she can't live without Him. If she must go on, she must be exposed to the light, however uncomfortable.  Really, what does she have to lose if she has Him? Or on the contrary, what does she have to gain if she loses Him? She steps out of hiding. The light catches first her feet, and then there in plain sigh...

Love... A word that keeps surfacing in my life lately.   I see it in my children’s picture bible as I catch sight of a depiction of Jesus hanging on the cross.   I hear pleas for Love in those who speak of their pain.   “Oh, to be truly loved,” the heart cries.   I wonder just how deep love can reach and as I reach for the deepest that I can find, I realize I still have not found the depths.   Love –as limitless as God.   Love –as profound as He is.   Love –wider than the widest ocean, vaster than the heavens.   However much we open ourselves up to it, there is always more. Love – the very expression of God.   Do you really know Him?   You might say yes, but have you tasted Him if you have not yet tasted love?   For He has said, “God is love.” (1 John 4:8)   The more I peer  into its depths, the more captivated I become.   Could there be any greater, more awe-striking way for God to express Himself? Take a wal...