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So as I sit here and type away, it is remarkable to me what has transpired. I was ready to sit down and write this blog about change. Mainly because in just a few days my daughter will say “I do” and create a huge change for our family. I am a bundle of emotions on the inside and this just seemed like a natural place to go. Last night I did some research on scriptures about change and was ready to write my blog this morning. Then something happened.
As I sat drinking my morning cup of coffee, a song popped into my head. I didn’t hear it anywhere, or at any time in the last few days; it was just there, out of left field. What the World Needs Now is Love by Jackie DeShannon started playing over and over in my head. Why would a song released before I was even born, pop into my head and stay there?
Well, it seemed as if I should take a minute before sitting down to type out this blog. I’ve said many times to many different people this blog is for the Lord, and He is in control. So as I spent a little time with Him, it appeared as if He was sending me a clear message through a secular song, written almost 60 years ago. This isn’t about me and how I’m feeling; it’s about Him and what He brings.
So I tell you that an hour ago this blog looked very different in my head. It has gone from writing about change to simply writing about love. And what better place to start, as the wonderful wedding day quickly approaches, than with the different types of love that have been put on display over the last several months? How about a parental love so deep that they would do anything for their child, from securing every little thing to make this the perfect day, to staying up until the wee hours of the morning making sure programs get finished and to the printer on time, to driving down to the Arch and taking pictures early on a Saturday morning. Basically any sacrifice that needed made, they made and would still give more.
I’ve seen a sibling love so great that we have a “Man of Honor” on the bride side and a “Best Woman” on the groom side, just because of how important each is in the couple’s lives. The love of friends has also not gone unnoticed. They have spent countless hours helping arrange different get-togethers and parties, as well as helping with all of the little details that go into making the day perfect.
I’ve even seen two uncles and one adopted uncle travel from Texas, South Carolina, and California to share in the day. Why, because they love their niece as if she were their own. All this love and I haven’t mentioned the love of Darby and Cam. Their love will come to a pinnacle as the two become one in a matter of a few days.
Yes, the outpouring of love surrounding this wedding has been something to behold! However, it can’t hold a candle to the love Christ has for each of us. The most famous verse in the Bible starts off, “For God so loved the world…” But it isn’t just the world – it’s you and me. It’s personal. Cory Asbury said it best in his song Reckless Love, “Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the 99.” This is the love our Father has for us. But, it doesn’t stop there.
“See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us his children” (1 John 3:1). Perhaps this is why He calls us His children. We can’t understand the depth of His love, but remember earlier I talked of parental love and how it would do anything to make the wedding day so special. The parent’s goal is to lift that child up and make that day everything it could be and more. That’s what your Heavenly Father wants for your LIFE. He wants it to be special, to be more than you could ever hope for, to shower you with the love of the King of the Universe. He just wants to have that personal relationship with you, like the perfect parent/child relationship, and show you His love.
I know, as a father, some of my anxiety from my daughter getting married is the concern that we will lose much of our personal connection. That she will find her own life and forget about dear old Dad. Sometimes that is what happens with us and our Heavenly Father. We sever the connection, we pull away from His love, but it is always there. He is constant, never changing, and loves you even when you are struggling to love Him back. His love is filled with an amazing grace we just can’t fathom.
This whole blog started with a song that wouldn’t leave my head: What the World Needs Now is Love. This is true, but it needs a specific kind of love: a Father’s pure love, God’s love. And although we can never love as completely as Him, when we allow Him to love us, He pours his love into us so completely, we can pour that love out to others. In a world that seems so filled with hate, turmoil, violence and so much general negativity, isn’t God’s love what is needed? Shouldn’t all of us who have that relationship with the Lord and who experience His love on so many levels, want to be an agent of a love that can truly make a difference?
Too many of us get caught up in the chaos and bitterness of the world, and we forget that God’s love for us teaches us how we need to approach others, and not just sometimes, but all the time.
“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” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6).
This is what the world needs! Keep working on pouring God’s love out into the world as will I. The next time we talk, I’ll officially be a father-in-law, wow! Until then…
Very well said! Congrats to Darby & Cam!
Beautiful!
Congratulations! Enjoy every moment!
Beautiful. My favorite scripture reading on love.