I Long to Love Well
I awoke this morning with a deep longing to love well. It struck me that this is how I should awake every morning.
When Jesus was asked the purpose of life, He responded without hesitation: to love well (Matthew 22:35-40). The greatest commandment, in fact, the command that sums up all commands and identifies the purpose of life, is to love God well and to love others well.
I was also struck by the fact that I have a lot—a LOT—of growth to obtain in movement toward my goal of loving well. I love inconsistently, when I long to love consistently. I love conditionally, when I long to love unconditionally. I love based upon performance, when I long to love based upon Christ’s grace. I have a LOT of growing to do—through Christ.
I was further struck by the fact that I am so thankful to Christ that I long to love well. It’s not a natural longing—it’s supernatural. In myself, in the flesh, life is all about me. In Christ, through the Spirit, life is about sacrificial love.
Finally, I was struck by the realization that longing to love well is what separates the person with a new heart (the regenerate person) from the person with an old heart (the unsaved person). Apart from Christ we awake each morning longing to be loved well by others. We awake each morning longing for success, longing for ease, longing for happiness, longing just to survive. Apart from Christ, sometimes we awake longing for ill to happen to those who have caused us ill.
No one can awake longing to love well unless that longing has been awakened by Christ.
Join the Conversation
What did you awake longing for this morning? Tomorrow morning?
I woke this morning longing for this week to be over. I covenant with myself to wake tomorrow listening to what God has for the new day and the new week. I imagine it will certainly include loving well the people in my world.