Coeur d'Alene Church of the Nazarene

LOVE ONLY WHAT IS WORTHY OF YOUR LOVE

 ¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.  – 1 John 2:15-17

       Our affections so easily get scattered and fall disproportionately on all most anything.  “I love pizza,” “I love poodles,” “I love the smell of the ocean breeze,” “I love an old growth forest.” 

       The great commandment is to “Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” – Dt 6:4-5.  This simply defines the totality of a person’s commitment of self in the purest and noblest intentions of trust and obedience to an Eternal God.

       What happens to us is that we don’t get our affections focused on someone big enough or deserving enough.  Before long we have begun to invest our love on lesser things.  What results is addiction, disappointment, damage, distortion, aberration, crime and so on. 

       The God who loves us and created us in His image, calls us to be like Him and get our affections focused and prioritized.  Then everything in the created world can be enjoyed in a wholesome way.  Both balance and harmony can be maintained in all facets of life.

       Fortunately God didn’t just give us a Manual on how to do all this.  He offers Himself in a personal and dynamic relationship.  What a wonderful privilege!  And it is all available in Jesus Christ.

–Pastor Ron Hunter