Love?

When I attended my reunion, I was able to see many friends that I haven't seen in 30 years. Some of them were my best friends in elementary and high school , and I loved them. In fact, when I saw them again I still felt love towards them immediately. This got me thinking. How much does love depend on spending time together? If I hadn't seen them in 30 years, how could I say that I still loved them? My daughter, Brittne, is in Peru. I have only seen her once in the last year but my love for her hasn't diminished. So, does spending time together have anything to do with the ability to love someone? I think it is more of a matter of intimacy rather than love. You can not be intimate with people unless you spend time with them. Brittne and I still talk weekly, I share her hurts and your joys, I pray for her. We are as close as we ever have been. However, in the last couple of months, I have had the blessing of making contact with several old friends . Some of them have walked through some real valleys. I hated that they have had great hurt in their life and I hated that I wasn't there to pray for them, or encourage them, or just care for them. I still love them but I can not say that I have been intimate with them because I haven't shared their struggles, their hurts, and their joys . The same principal applies to a marriage. I have seen marriages end in divorce where each spouse says they still love the each other but they no longer feel any intimacy. For Dwayne and I to keep intimacy in our marriage we have to spend time with each other. We have to talk to each other and share with each other.

I believe most of us would say that we love Jesus? However, you must spend time with Him, sharing your struggles, your hurts, and your joys to experience intimacy with Him. Where do you want to be with Christ? Do you love Him? Are you intimate with Him?

Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received!

2 Peter 1:3 (The Message)