Just One Small Word that Saved the World.

~Tracy Frederick
Isn’t it sad that our language has only one word to express what we so desperately need? It is what songs are written about; it is what brings in billions of dollars into the box office, what television shows are designed around, what sells tons of books and what internet sites are built for. We dream about it, crave it and sometimes even die for it. But, the sad part is, we have very little understanding of what it is.  We have one little word for it…love. One measly little word to describe all of what our heart yearns for; is made for. But, we understand there are different kinds of love, different depths of love and although someone may say they love, it doesn’t always mean forever. With the way our world and the media defines love, it can be easy to lose sight of the depths of love, I mean REAL love. Perhaps it is time to refresh our memory and help us to renew our understanding of that kind of love, the enduring kind and remind us that we are loved, loved more deeply than we are probably capable of, or can ever imagine.In order to understand the depths of true love, we must turn to the source and creator of all love, our Father. I also know that unless we understand the depth of our Father’s love for us, an agape love, unless we can truly grasp how much He gave up and loves us, beyond our human comprehension, we will never WANT to walk the narrow path, we will never WANT to stray from Him. Some time back I had a conversation with our ladies Bible class about talking to our children about their soul’s salvation. The subject first came up in regard to punishment, that is, children who want to put their Lord on in baptism (Acts 2:38, Mark 16: 16, Rom 6:4, etc.) because they want to avoid punishment,of hell. It is all about not getting in trouble, not getting a “spanking." I was concerned that this kind of attitude is not about love, the eternal separation from the love of our lives, our Creator and sustainer of our lives, our first love, the one who loved us when we were unlovable, the one who always forgives us over and over again. I get that we don't want to be punished, but isn't the biggest heartbreak, the separation from our first love, our Father?