When we love someone, it is easy to see that our love at times for those we love can be an inconvenience. I just returned from a friend's home who was baby sitting his granddaughter and grandson. As I watched him and his wife do nothing but run after these three and one year olds, I realised that there lives were greatly inconvenienced by these two little ones that were now in their care. After pointing out the obvious, they responded by saying "we would have it no other way".
Love is intrusive, when we love someone they can and will often cause disturbance or a disruption to our lives. These two beautiful children, as precious as they were brought havoc to the normal operations of my friends lives. I recently felt the same whilst teaching my daughter to drive, though I love her and believe in her, I constantly felt concern when ever we hopped in the car for a lesson. And though this is a temporal thing which will fade with time, there will be something else that arises that will disrupt our lives. This however is a normal part of being in relationship and loving those around us.
God loves us, as scripture again and again tells us and how Jesus going to the cross has demonstrated. John 1:1-3; 14 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” Philippians goes on to say that Jesus left his abode, heaven, and became man. Though Christ knew no sin, he became sin for us.
We can view this from two angles, one in the view of Christ and the incredible sacrifice he made on our behalf but also in view of the sinner, that is those needing salvation. When I first believed in Christ Jesus as my saviour I knew my life was in ruin. Though the appearance of having it all, money, friends and a bright future, I knew that there was something or better someone who was missing from my life. But to have that someone in my life was going to cost me, not just a little but everything I had and knew. Friendship with God will always mean animosity with the world and worldliness. Matthew 6:33 commands us to seek first his kingdom and all his righteousness...This requires we laydown our lives, take up our cross and follow Jesus daily. Denying ourselves, our wants for the sake of others is the very thing that Christ displayed to us.
Not only do we pay the price for love but we also gain the benefits of it. Those are obvious when it come to God and the riches of his kingdom. But on an earthly level the benefits of sharing our lives with others, though at times can be intrusive to us and them, far out way any costs we may incur. Love is intrusive, but without love we really have no relationships nor do we have the benefits of those relationships in our lives. Therefore just a God is love, learn to love more and in doing so I believe we see more of God in our own lives.
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