May 12

“Love GOD, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!” Deuteronomy 6:5 (MSG)

Have you ever loved someone, really loved someone, without those feelings ever being acknowledged, or returned?  It is not that you stop caring for that person, it is just that the relationship is limited, and cannot grow. When your heart is bursting to give, but they do not feel the same, the river flows one way, and it’s impact is tempered.

However, when you love someone and they love you in return, the river picks up momentum and speed, the joy is increased as tenderhearted devotion flows freely, one to another.  That is how it is with God.  He loves you—always has and always will—and His river of affection and acceptance is an unending flow!  When you receive all that He has to offer, everything changes, as His love pours into your life, healing all the broken places and making them whole.

Then when you love Him in return, and pour your heart back out to God, the blessings increase!  As He becomes the focus of your adoration and affection, your own heart is changed, for it finds it’s fulfillment in accepting pure love, and in loving the One Who is love, in return.

Oh beloved, love Him with all that you’ve got!  That is exactly how He is loving you!