10.14.24

This week we turn our attention to the attribute of God that everybody loves the most: that our God is a God of love. And we will be looking at the story of Hosea for our picture of that love.

Though we all love hearing about the love of God, the depth of that affection toward us is beyond the scope of what our minds and hearts can grasp. But there is one thing we can all agree on when it comes to love. None of us are capable of finding the love our hearts desire and need in this world. Whether it’s in a spouse, our children, our parents or a friend, we long for a love from others that they are incapable of giving us. Everybody disappoints us. Every love falls short. Including ours - since we are incapable of giving the love to others that they need from us.

So many of our struggles in this life come from the disappointments we feel from love that falls short. Though we’re often too proud to admit it - and therefore often call it something else, we are easily hurt when others don’t recognize our contributions - we feel slighted when someone disrespects us in traffic - we’re often petty with our spouses when they fail to appreciate us or give us thanks for our sacrifice - our motivation at work goes up and down depending on how valued and appreciated we feel.

So why is it that we can never receive from others the love our hearts desire? Because the love that created the world is the furnace in which our hearts were forged. We were designed by the consuming fire of an infinite loving God to be in intimate relationship with him. And therefore there is no other love that can ever truly warm our hearts. At best, they can remind us that it exists. And we can appreciate the hints of it in our relationships with one another. But their ongoing disappointments only remind us that we were made for another world - for another love.

The love of God is THE thing that we all need to satisfy the longings of our hearts. We desperately need it. And without it, our hearts are left out shivering in the cold.

Today, as you feel the hurt and brokenness of loves that fall short, remind your heart that you were made for a deeper love. Remind your heart that every other love is supposed to fall short. Remind yourself that their disappoints are designed to drive you to Jesus, not to frustration or despair. And run to the one who loves you more than any other person ever could.