December 8, 2021

Wednesday

Love and Like

Psalm 15: 1-5

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”

1 John 2:6

In marital counseling sessions, a spouse might say to a counselor, “I know (my spouse) loves me; I’m just not sure (my spouse) likes me.” To a troubled spouse, it might mean that a partner goes through all the motions of provision, protection, and parenting—willful choices of love—but might do so without a genuine sense of passion and joy. Life might be conducted at a surface level instead of at a spiritual level.

Those same two dimensions are present in our spiritual life as well. There is love for and from God, then there is intimacy and openness with God—what the Bible means by fellowship. The core meaning of fellowship is not coffee and cookies in the fellowship hall after church. Fellowship means oneness or commonality. It means enjoying a common set of values: honesty, love, sacrifice, openness, integrity, and more. That is what God offers us in His love; it is also what God expects from us in return if we claim to walk with Him.

A point to ponder…

Jesus lived in total oneness with the Father. That is the way we should live as well. When we are not honest with God, our intimacy with Him is interrupted (1 John 1:9).

Read the Bible through in a year

Galatians 4-6

I love you!!!

© 2000-2021 B. Michael Goerlich