Dimensions of God’s Love

What is love?  We each have experienced at least some kind of love in our lives, be it love between a man and a woman or such partners, love between a parent and child, the love between friends or love of family.  We are all capable of many types of love and may have many loved ones in our life.  If we were to lose a loved one or even if we are just missing one of these many types of love in our own lives, there is emptiness that is felt.  It’s like a hole in your heart, a void that longs to be filled. You feel it no matter how you want to avoid it or try to fill the void with other things.  There is still the longing.  We may have a little love in our lives or even a lot of love and yet there is still a longing.  It’s like there is at least one hole yet to fill.

Now consider the image of God in which you were made.  If we as men and women are capable of love for many, how much more is The Creator of the universe capable of?  So if we expand what we know of love to infinity, we begin to imagine God’s Love!  If you cannot quite imagine this sort of infinite love think of it this way:  You probably know what it feels like to have that one void in your heart.  Then surely I say before there was you, God felt the same desire to love you.

Understanding Love and Desire

Know that all understanding is available through The Holy Spirit. When it is Love you seek to understand, know this also: While it can be understood, Love is the very heart of God, and as with God, you can always grow in understanding. The many facets of God’s Love are reflected in the Love that is part of our design. Of those facets, desire seems to be most enigmatic at least to me.

Desire is like a veracious flame. So perhaps I can use an analogy of a flame lighting an oil lamp. The nature of desire is to consume its obsession. If the wick is too frayed or separated, the flame is spread out and weakened and cannot be maintained. If the wick is not exposed it will never be reached by the fire. If it is too exposed the flame will grow out of control and if it is dry the flame will burn quickly and then go out. Now here is where I have to bend the analogy a bit to fit reality. The oil that feeds the flame of desire is itself desire but mixed with admiration, trust, compassion, and all the other aspects of Love. If that oil is not in each person and complete in its formula, the flame of desire will go out.

The good news is that it is possible to light the lamp again but it is not done by continuing to throw matches at the lamp. It’s done by replenishing the missing elements in the oil. Realize though, that this is easier said than done. One of those ingredients you’ll find is long-suffering. The full recipe of that oil can be found by going to its source, God, through The Word and The Holy Spirit. His is the perfect Love that is never weak, never too overpowering, and is everlasting. Love in its perfect form replenishes as it burns and His Love burns as bright as we can handle. As much as you know God, get to know Him more. As much as you know of Love, grow in knowledge, practice, and understanding.

Rejoice even in heartache, fore if nothing else you are feeling, only in a small way, what God has felt multiplied by every soul from the beginning to the end of time.