What Do You Love?

What do you love?

We throw the word around a lot. "I love chocolate!" or "I love the beach". Of course there are people we love. And I don't mean "love" as in obligated to show and have concern for them, but I mean we just really LOVE to be with them. They just fit. We find ourselves completely relaxed around them. We look forward to being with them when we can and miss them when we can't. This is why I married my bride. When our relationship got to the point where it was time to fish or cut bait, I couldn't stand the thought of NOT being with her. After we were married, someone asked me about getting married and I said, "Oh, I had to."  At first they thought I meant "I HAD to" like with shotguns and all. But no. What I truly felt is that I had no choice. I had to. 

There are foods we love. Foods that just satisfy and the flavor is so good. A great steak. A superb cheeseburger. Chips and really great salsa. Franklin's BBQ. I mean, come on. FRANKLIN'S BBQ! When I was in high school I went on my first true backpacking trip into the mountains of Colorado. The whole bit:  backpacking in all our food, eating dehydrated food for a week. When we hiked down back to Durango, we all chatted about what we were going to eat when we got home. We were so hungry for real food. In Durango, we had dinner at a nice restaurant and I had chicken fried steak. To this day that was the BEST chicken fried steak I've ever had. I LOVED that steak. 

There are places we love. Whether it's the ocean or the mountains or the open road or the countryside or even the big city, there are places that bring either a serenity and peace or sometimes an excitement and energy that we just don't get anywhere else. I love exploring new cities. Finding neat restaurants, interesting hotels, fun shops, or learning interesting history of a place, all those things bring joy and adventure to me. I am fortunate in that I have gotten to travel some with my job and I always make it a point to find new places even in cities I visit often. 

The way all these things speak to our hearts is significant. It shows us a glimpse into the Kingdom that will come. The way all of these things thrill us is the way our hearts will be thrilled eternally when that time comes. I believe God gives us these glimpses so that we will latch onto them and use them as "anchors for our souls" (Heb. 6). They are meant to keep us from drifting and loosing our moorings. 

But there is another way these loves should speak to us. In James 4:5 there is a really interesting verse where the brother of Jesus writes: "do you think that the scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit dwelling in us desires to the point of envy?"  The Spirit desires? To the point of envy?  Really?  Do you see God as a God of deep desire?  Yes. Yes He is. And I mean DEEP desire. Deeper that wanting that steak coming off the mountain. Deeper than longing for that upcoming beach trip. And yes, deeper, much deeper, than you "desire" your spouse, or if your single, the desire you may have to have a spouse. It's a deep, longing, envious desire. And what is the object of His desire?

You.