Today I was driving down the road, and God said to me, "Do you know how Valentines Day is coming up?"
I said, "Yes Father, I know."
He said, "Do you know how powerful and strong and passionate the relationship between a man and a woman can be?"
I said, "Yes!!!"
He said, "That's the kind of relationship I want with my people!"
I had some love songs on in the car, including "The Power of Love"... one of my favorites! It was as if He said to me, "I want you to listen to those songs and sing them... not because of your love for another person, but because of your love for me, and my love for you."
I did... and tears starting coming down my face!
Then Un-chained Melody came on... another one of my favorites... and I wept almost the whole way home as I thought of my Father's great love for me!!
During my time in the Bible last night, the Lord also reminded me of a Bible verse that shows us clearly that our relationship with God is supposed to be a deep and passionate love relationship! Take a look at Ephesians 5:25-32...
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church."
You know how passionate a deep love relationship between a man and a woman can be? They would do ANYTHING for each other... they would even DIE for each other... their love is so strong that NOTHING can keep them apart! That kind of a love relationship doesn't begin to describe how deep and powerful and passionate our love relationship with God is supposed to be!
Did you know that even BEFORE we were reconciled with our heavenly Father, He loved us so much that even death didn't stand in the way of Him trying to reconcile with us? That's right! We aren't loved for what we've done, but for who we are! As Romans 5:8 tells us:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
I have a challenge for you today... go turn on some powerful and passionate (and clean) love songs, and then sing along, and instead of thinking about another person, think about your love relationship with your heavenly Father... think of His love relationship with you! For example, turn on the Un-chained Melody, an old classic passionate love song, and picture it as if your heavenly Father is singing it to you. When you do... be sure to listen to the words and let them sink in as you're singing along!
I am warning you... have a big box of tissues handy... you'll need them!!
Ephesians 3:17-19 clearly shows us that in order to experience the fullness of God in our lives, we MUST come to know how deep and passionate His love for us really is!
"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."
I remember reading a powerful life-changing testimony one time, where the Lord kept telling the person, "Love is the most powerful force in the universe."
Now I'm not trying to say that we are to have a 'romantic' or sensual relationship with God, as in only unique to a relationship between a man and a woman, but what I am saying is that God wants a very lively, passionate, and intimate love relationship with us each day of our lives! If husband and wife can love each other so much that their love serves as a driving force that would cause either of them to give their lives for one another... shouldn't our relationship with God exceed that? Should not our relationship with God be greater than any earthly relationship we could ever have? Jesus wanted to have this kind of a relationship so much with you that He gave His life for it!!
Later on in the day, I was thinking about how powerful a love relationship can be between a married couple who are very passionate and in love with one another. Because their love for each other is so deep and passionate, it serves an extremely power driving force, that they would do nearly anything for each other, including give up their own lives for one another! The Lord then spoke to me again and asked me...
"Do you think I want anything less than that in my relationship with my bride?
