I was at the gas station the other day when I saw a sign that said “Looking for love?” I couldn’t see the bottom half of the sign so I don’t know what they were advertising. I assume that it was something related to Valentine’s Day but for all I know it could have been cupcakes.
Of course this got me to thinking about how often we look for love in all of the wrong places. At worst we replace love with lust. We also fill the God shaped hole in each of us with all kinds of meaningless things such as television, camping, romance novels, etc. We were created to love God but so often we get caught up in loving the created rather than the Creator.
God wants us to enjoy life and we should enjoy the many things that God gives us. (Obviously this does not include the things that are forbidden as sinful.) But we need to remember that God gave them to us and they should never take the place of God.
One of the most frustrating things as a pastor is looking out over the congregation each Sunday and noticing who isn’t there. Obviously there are sicknesses to deal with and then there are vacations and other reasons for traveling. But pretty much every week I notice that someone isn’t at church and I can’t help but think “What better thing did they have to do on Sunday than worship God?” Rarely do I hear an explanation and when I do it’s even more frustrating. For instance, if your life is so busy that Sunday morning is the only time you have to go grocery shopping, you need to cut something out of your life and whatever that thing is, it shouldn’t be God.
As our thoughts turn to love around this time of year, thank God for those that He gave you to love. But also take time to remember your love for God as well and be sure to express it.