Everyone is Searching



S.P.



A woman, unhappily married. Unhappily married to a man who has no respect for her, who verbally abuses her, who certainly does not care for her best. Yet she does not want to be alone, so she stays. She is searching.

The boy bullied countless times in the hallways at school is ashamed of himself, embarrassed of who he is. He contemplates suicide. He is searching.

The young girl who made a mistake. And now she's pregnant. "But I thought he cared about more than just this body of mine" she says, after he leaves her. She is searching.

Searching for what?

"God IS love." 1 John 4:8

We are all searching for love. It's the core of all we do.
Often looked at is the struggles we face, or the sin we are constantly in battle with.
Instead we should go further than just identifying the sin. What makes us want to do those certain sins?
The easy answer is "Oh, it's just my sinful nature."
This statement is completely true, but there is so much more to it than that.

The core of all our hearts is wanting to feel and know that we are loved, a desiring to be known by others.

"God IS love." 1 John 4:8

Whether it's a woman starving herself because she doesn't feel beautiful enough,

Or the man that continues to look at pornography in secret,

Or the girl who will go to bed crying tonight because she has discovered the unfaithfulness of her boyfriend.

Or the boy who is only fourteen, but today he will endure 'hazing' in hopes that he will be accepted into the city gang.

All of these issues that individuals are faced with daily return to the same thought.

"I simply want to be loved. I simply want to be known."

S.P.



How about the Christian struggling with sin yet wanting to seek after God. The Christian who feels incredible weight to reflect the perfect standard that only Jesus has set and can match. The Christian feels not good enough. The Christian is searching.



The struggles we face are typically a side effect of the fact that we have a seemingly unquenchable desire to love, be loved, know, and be known.

"God IS love." 1 John 4:8

Maybe you are wondering why I continue to mention the verse above.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

If God IS love, and we were made in HIS image, then it is certain that love and loving is a huge part of being human. And consequently, this love we desire can be found in God. Before we can work on any of the issues we have, we must first believe that we are known and loved by a God who IS love. The sin we deal with daily, or even the insecurities we face are the consequence of not realizing the limitless and unconditional love of God.
Dear Christian, or may I even go further to say, Dear soul, you are loved.

His Unconditional Love

"...to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law, and this is my solemn vow."

Recognize these words? They are probably some of the most said phrases, being said in some form or fashion at nearly every wedding. Over this past weekend, I had the joy of attending my uncle's wedding. It was beautiful and I'm so happy for them!

However, as I sat there admiring the picturesque scene of two people pronouncing their love for one another, I had a thought.

When two people get married, they essentially pronounce their unconditional love to one another. Saying that, in their union, they will love each other no matter what happens, whether good or bad.

In Ephesians 5, Paul shares about the comparison of how a husband is to a wife as Christ is to the church. Here comes my thought... 

Something we struggle with as Christians is remembering that God loves us, every part of us. Even the parts about ourselves that we hate. God is not pleased with the bad parts of us, of course, but He knows the sinful state we are in and promises a way of deliverance.
If as humans we promise our spouse our unconditional love, then why do we struggle so much with the idea that Christ promises this too, especially when He promises it with heights and depths of infinity and eternity?

Romans 8: 37-39
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Personally, I have trouble understanding how God could love someone like me, a wretched sinner with nothing to offer besides mistakes, regrets and selfishness. But that is where the unconditional love kicks in and is most beautiful.

I think a lot of Christians out there need this reminder:
God does love you, all of you. Through better spiritual times, and worse spiritual times. Through when you're feeling spiritually rich and spiritually poor. Through spiritual sickness and health. NOT until death do us part, but in fact, especially in death, when we are reunited and made brand new. Instead of running away from our darkest parts because we have the assumption that Christ "can't handle them", we can know that God will meet us even in those dark places, be with us through them, and provide the way out.

Psalm 139: 11-12
"If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you. "

Note: I know wedding vows are not necessarily biblical, but I think the general idea presented can be considered truth.

I Just Don't Feel like It

Photo credit belongs to my amazing and lovely friend Laura Kindness © Eternity Photos

Love. Say that word a few times. It's powerful, isn't it? Love.

Love is who hung himself on a tree for my sake, for our sakes.
Love is what rescued us from sin.

Most of us, if not all, are familiar with the 'Love Chapter' of the Bible.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Emotions are incredible, aren't they? They allow you to feel out of this world happy or excited. On the other hand, they can allow you to feel extremely depressed or lonely. And then there are days when you may feel nothing at all. Most come to realize that emotions can be incandescently beautiful yet also have the potential to be deceptive and unstable all at the same time.

On fire for Jesus. You've heard that one, right? Yeah, me too. It's the coined phrase for any believer who's on a roll spiritually, gaining more and more momentum towards Christ. It's an encouraging sight!

But what about those who.... just don't feel like it?

What about those times when your emotions or feelings have hit rock bottom. You're not so much "on fire" for the King as you originally were. Life can get busy. Good habits start to fade. Christ gets crowded out. And suddenly a burning fire is quenched to an occasional spark, a faint glimmer.

I started out this post with the mention of love because that is what should continually push us towards Christ. Not an emotion, a fleeting feeling or hype from a moment. Why? These can be good for the moment, but that's it - just the moment! They cannot sustain you for any longer than that.

When we come to know Christ, we die to ourselves. We look past the distractions, and say that we choose to love Christ, to love His commands, to love His will... All with His help of course!
In those moments when we do not FEEL like it, then we need to remind ourselves that true love is not a feeling, but it is something you do. It is sacrifice.

For all of you out there, who perhaps just don't feel like it. That's okay.. we all get there sometimes. It just comes down to what you do with the situation you're in. Read God's word even more, pray even more.

Perhaps you are the one whose raging fire has now reduced to an occasional spark or flicker, well let me tell you, an occasional spark is all it takes to reignite the fire.

Proverbs 8:17
"I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me."