Are You in Love?

(from the book)
"The rich word, honeymoon, some scholars believe, originated with a drink composed of honey and mead, a type of wine, shared by a bride and groom each night for a month after their wedding. For some poets the term honeymoon suggests that love after marriage, like the full moon at its peak, begins to wane- it grows smaller with the passage of days. The first lunar month of marriage was seen as the sweetest, being like honeyed wine. Israel's forty years along in the desert with God was indeed a time sweet as honey. When the Exodus ended and the Hebrews abandoned their years of migration, settling down in villages and becoming city dwellers, they quickly forgot about their marriage covenant with God. As happens in countless marriages, the honeymoon was soon over!"

Unfortunately, it seems that all too often, our relationship with God also seems to wane after the honeymoon period has ended. How often do you hear about people being on the "hilltop" and then soon realizing they are once again in the "valley" that they thought they had come out of. It is so easy to revert back to the old way of life and while not completely forgetting about God, also not sharing in that same deep, devotional love that occurs soon after profession of faith. Why is it that that love seems to diminish so quickly?

I know that in my life, my love for God has definitely had its ups and downs. Just like the Hebrew people, I too easily revert back once the honeymoon period is over. Thankfully I have taken more than one honeymoon with him BUT why is it that I need more than one...shouldn't that love just continue? As Tim has already talked about, Lent is intertwined with love. If it weren't for love, would we even have the season of Lent? Lent ends with the ultimate showing of love- Jesus giving all for you and I. WOW. That is definitely the ultimate showing of love.

I want that love like that to become real in my life. I want it to spill from me and be evident in everything I do. I don't want the honeymoon to wane...but instead have that love grow stronger and stronger with each passing day. I hope that this season of Lent will help me realize the love He has for me and thus in turn be able to share that love with others in my daily live. Let me learn from the ultimate example... and let me Love as He loves me.

"Come, Holy Spirit, usher me, as you led Jesus, into these desert days. As the Spirit of Love, fill me so I can again be romanced by my Beloved God."