Do you write love notes to people near and dear to your heart? Do you share details with your family about little things that can make a big impact when they (or you) are called home? Do you live each day crazy in love with the Lord and your loved ones?
God’s Word is filled with elaboration and examples of sharing love and honoring the Lord, parents, and people He puts in our paths. David’s psalms express a heart devoted to God. Paul’s writings are filled with passion for Christ. Revelation reveals the importance of loving passionately through long letters sent to the churches. Jesus’ applauded the church at Ephesus for discerning against false teachers and working hard. However, He faulted them for having lost their ‘first love’! What was once a love relationship waned through time; their passion for Him became cold. The Ephesians did not pursue Christ with loyal devotion like they once did and were in danger of their close relationship becoming cold and hearts crusting over like an untended field Pastor Eddie Smith preached about recently. During a stirring sermon, he told about two fields near his home. One was a fertile field – tended to daily – with soft soil and bountiful crops; the other field’s soil had crusted over with a hardness that kept rains from penetrating and new growth from sprouting forth. The field had not been tended to, dead stalks stood from past seasons, weeds were rampant, and the crusty covering grew harder through time.
We can fall away from a close relationship with the Lord and loved ones when we fail to keep our hearts fertile and faithful. When we stay stuck in past seasons and stop caring for our spiritual, physical, social, and mental wellness, our hearts can crust over, close relationships wither, with praise and passion wearing out. We must tend to our hearts daily: pruning seeds of envy, hatred, bitterness, unforgiveness, while sowing seeds that produce the fruit of the spirit and keep us closely connected to the Vine. When love is taken for granted, passion can be snuffed out like a candle with no flame and relationships falter. This is why Jesus warns people to repent and return to Him with the passion they once had. Fertile hearts fuel powerful passion and produces crops of faith, hope, joy, and love beyond measure.
Taking time to sift through things in my home while preparing to move revealed treasures that sent my passion soaring. One was my mother’s rolling pin she taught me to roll out pastry with. Holding it in my hand, I could see her smile as she cut perfect squares from her thin dough and dropped them in chicken broth. Remembering my mother’s passion for family meals, church-going and using time wisely seemed to usher her presence into the very room where my moving mess overwhelmed. When daddy’s navy picture stared at me from an antique box, his sweet smile reminded me of what a passionate and gentle man he was. Daddy never fussed, he just sang silly songs to bring peace when mama did. A childhood movie played in my mind of a home where love ruled, birthdays were a big deal, hard work was a daily deal, and passion for the Lord and loved ones were real. Little things we did, like sharing peanut butter on saltines with milk before bedtime, sitting together on the same pew every Sunday morning, and never leaving home without hugs and “I love you’s” kept us knit together. Staying closely connected along life’s way keeps the passion alive every day. What will our children and grandchildren treasure when we are no longer with them? Passionate living and generous giving with Jesus at the helm each day keeps the enemy at bay and memories guaranteed ‘to stay.’
Next week, I will share the rest of this story about love notes and little things that can keep our hearts from crusting over and our lives from being barren and boring. Take time this week to prune and prepare your hearts for fertile seasons; trust your Creator and Caretaker who can crack the crust and send your faith soaring.
Happy Valentine’s Day… share love notes and little things with people God sent to bless you in special ways.