Just To Be Close
I think we all have a need to be loved and/or wanted. It seems to be basic and really understandable. Have couples come together with this understanding? Have they fared well? Was God pleased when these two met each other; one hoping to be needed and the other wanting to be loved? Don't those 2 words just euphemise desperation?
The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want...., it is written. My God supplies all of my needs according to His riches in glory...., is is written. ...whatever state you are in, be content...it is written. So how then could God be pleased or the couple do well in the relationship if there is no faith in what God said is already yours in Him?
Now love, that's a different matter altogether. Why would a Christian believe he/she isn't loved? I counseled such a person and I couldn't understand why she would say such a thing. I didn't have anything at the ready for her because I assumed if you claim to be a Christian, of course you have to know you are loved. She said, "I don't believe anyone could love anyone else that much." I was at a loss on how to combat that. You see, it wasn't that she didn't understand what the Word said and it wasn't that she didn't understand why Jesus did what He did, it was she didn't believe anyone would do such a thing just from love (John 3:16 AMP).
How can you be a Christian and not accept His love? The woman I was counseling accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior but could not believe salvation was made because of His love. Then how could she be a Christian? How could she pray? How could she ask to have someone to love if she didn't know what that sort of love is (1 John 4:8 AMP)? How could she walk in the Spirit so not to fulfill the lust of the flesh?She looked at me with a blank stare after 4 weeks of counseling. I didn't know what else to say and felt like I wasted my time. How can you pour water into a pitcher if the pitcher is cracked (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 AMP)?
We are able to recognize each other because of that love (Matthew 22:36-40 AMP). We have accepted and walk it out each and everyday of our lives. Its that love that causes us to recognize who is the one and why (1 Corinthians 13:4-10 AMP). Its a knowing dwelling on the inside and we have fed that knowing by attending church services, being obedient to His Word, serving others, and prayer.
This morning I had a business meeting. Afterward, instead of returning to my place of employment, I went to breakfast at a restaurant - alone. The hostess asked if I would like a table or a booth. I requested a booth because I knew the single tables are placed in obscurity. When I was seated the waitress asked if I would like anything else to drink besides water. I asked for tea and lemon. When she returned and placed the cup and saucer on the table, I was ready to order. It didn't take long for me to receive my meal, in the meantime, I had poured the hot water, squeezed the lemon, stirred in 2 teaspoons of sugar (thinking I would have preferred honey) and sipped while texting a co-worker on my phone.When my meal arrived, I placed the cup and saucer to my right, the water on my left. I placed my napkin in my lap while thanking the waitress for the excellent service. I proceeded to enjoy my food. The waitress came to me a few minutes later to see if I would like anymore hot water. I did. When I was full, I left what was on my plate with my eating utensil, the napkin from my lap (after wiping my mouth) and the saucer and cup. By this, the waitress knew I was finished and placed the bill on the table. I thanked her again and left her a tip. Before I did, a man dressed in a taupe argyle sweater vest, light blue long sleeved shirt with salt and peppered hair walked up to me and said, "Excuse me Miss, I am from the South...Georgia to be exact (he bowed). I was sitting over there watching you eat. I have never....it was a delight. I see so many people eat like...well,....it was just an elegant delight." My first reaction was, what? Why are you watching me? But then, I laughed and thanked him...still it felt a little odd. I put it out of my mind and got up to pay my bill. While waiting for the cashier, this same man came up behind me with a small stack of napkins and said in a quiet voice, his name. He extended his hand. I shook it and told him mine. He then said, "if you ever wish to go out again, you don't have to eat alone....." He rifled through the napkins to get the one that has his name and phone number on it and gave it to me. "Call me, " he concluded. I said, thank you and it was nice meeting him then proceeded to pay my bill.
That was it. There were no sirens, no whistles, and that stir of the knowing didn't ignite. I hear people say that when you meet the one, there doesn't necessarily have to be all of what we expect. I beg to differ. The all powerful, all knowing God that has created you for a time such as this, who knew you before you were formed in the womb allows you to be surprised on Christmas and your birthday but when you meet the spouse that you are to spend the rest of your life with, it's supposed to be...bleh? The God that requires a bride without spot or wrinkle for His only begotten Son, but when we get married its just...ordinary? The God that gives you the desires of your heart and delights in your prosperity will make a presentation of your good thing in obscurity? What God do you serve?
The point is, if I can go to church and sense the Holy Spirit even before services begin, if I can go to a bible study group expecting good things and receive them, if I can ask my Heavenly Father for whatever and know that I know it is well with Him, why wouldn't that be true when seeing the man I am to date for the purposes of marriage? With this man at the restaurant, I sensed nothing. He was pleasant to talk to but I won't be calling him. Not for conversation or anything else. If he was interested like that, he would have said who he is in Christ rather then being a Southerner, which apparently was more important for him to convey. The woman I was counseling was interested in finding love but was seeking it with men when her relationship with God is the one that was in jeopardy. No matter how hard she searched, it would all be for nothing because she has no concept of love. Here is what you need to ponder, how many more of them are out there and how many of them would never admit to it. Do you have that inner knowing to tell the difference? Selah.
The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want...., it is written. My God supplies all of my needs according to His riches in glory...., is is written. ...whatever state you are in, be content...it is written. So how then could God be pleased or the couple do well in the relationship if there is no faith in what God said is already yours in Him?
How can you be a Christian and not accept His love? The woman I was counseling accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior but could not believe salvation was made because of His love. Then how could she be a Christian? How could she pray? How could she ask to have someone to love if she didn't know what that sort of love is (1 John 4:8 AMP)? How could she walk in the Spirit so not to fulfill the lust of the flesh?She looked at me with a blank stare after 4 weeks of counseling. I didn't know what else to say and felt like I wasted my time. How can you pour water into a pitcher if the pitcher is cracked (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 AMP)?
We are able to recognize each other because of that love (Matthew 22:36-40 AMP). We have accepted and walk it out each and everyday of our lives. Its that love that causes us to recognize who is the one and why (1 Corinthians 13:4-10 AMP). Its a knowing dwelling on the inside and we have fed that knowing by attending church services, being obedient to His Word, serving others, and prayer.
This morning I had a business meeting. Afterward, instead of returning to my place of employment, I went to breakfast at a restaurant - alone. The hostess asked if I would like a table or a booth. I requested a booth because I knew the single tables are placed in obscurity. When I was seated the waitress asked if I would like anything else to drink besides water. I asked for tea and lemon. When she returned and placed the cup and saucer on the table, I was ready to order. It didn't take long for me to receive my meal, in the meantime, I had poured the hot water, squeezed the lemon, stirred in 2 teaspoons of sugar (thinking I would have preferred honey) and sipped while texting a co-worker on my phone.When my meal arrived, I placed the cup and saucer to my right, the water on my left. I placed my napkin in my lap while thanking the waitress for the excellent service. I proceeded to enjoy my food. The waitress came to me a few minutes later to see if I would like anymore hot water. I did. When I was full, I left what was on my plate with my eating utensil, the napkin from my lap (after wiping my mouth) and the saucer and cup. By this, the waitress knew I was finished and placed the bill on the table. I thanked her again and left her a tip. Before I did, a man dressed in a taupe argyle sweater vest, light blue long sleeved shirt with salt and peppered hair walked up to me and said, "Excuse me Miss, I am from the South...Georgia to be exact (he bowed). I was sitting over there watching you eat. I have never....it was a delight. I see so many people eat like...well,....it was just an elegant delight." My first reaction was, what? Why are you watching me? But then, I laughed and thanked him...still it felt a little odd. I put it out of my mind and got up to pay my bill. While waiting for the cashier, this same man came up behind me with a small stack of napkins and said in a quiet voice, his name. He extended his hand. I shook it and told him mine. He then said, "if you ever wish to go out again, you don't have to eat alone....." He rifled through the napkins to get the one that has his name and phone number on it and gave it to me. "Call me, " he concluded. I said, thank you and it was nice meeting him then proceeded to pay my bill.
The point is, if I can go to church and sense the Holy Spirit even before services begin, if I can go to a bible study group expecting good things and receive them, if I can ask my Heavenly Father for whatever and know that I know it is well with Him, why wouldn't that be true when seeing the man I am to date for the purposes of marriage? With this man at the restaurant, I sensed nothing. He was pleasant to talk to but I won't be calling him. Not for conversation or anything else. If he was interested like that, he would have said who he is in Christ rather then being a Southerner, which apparently was more important for him to convey. The woman I was counseling was interested in finding love but was seeking it with men when her relationship with God is the one that was in jeopardy. No matter how hard she searched, it would all be for nothing because she has no concept of love. Here is what you need to ponder, how many more of them are out there and how many of them would never admit to it. Do you have that inner knowing to tell the difference? Selah.
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