A Visible Love

I remember when my wife and I decided to start dating.  We had met only a few short weeks earlier and had spend some time starting to get to know one another.  When we finally decided it was time to "date," we didn't tell all of our friends right away.  We had all just started college and all these friendships were new and growing.  They wouldn't catch that we were getting to know one another, we reasoned, because we were all getting to know one another.

Several of us would carpool from our home area on the West side of Cincinnati to our school in Northern Kentucky.  It saved on gas money and it made the ride through gridlock more enjoyable.  One of those days, Traci and I were not the drivers and ended up sitting in the back seat together riding down to school.  Half way through the drive, we found ourselves holding hands.  We didn't figure our friends in the front seat would see it.  We were wrong.  The friend in the front passenger seat, while talking to us, turned around...and we were caught.  Our budding romance was visible.

Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.    (John 14:23-26 NIV)

Love for God cannot stay hidden.  In fact, it shouldn't.  Love changes everything.  Love changes the words we say.  Love changes the things we do.  Love changes the way we live.

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.  (John 15:9-14 NIV)

Love not only changes the way we live.  It makes life better.  We experience joy in our hearts and a spring in our steps that wasn't there before.  We look forward to getting up in the morning.  We have trouble falling to sleep at night.  Every moment away from the one we love is a moment too long.  We want to be with the object of our affection.  We want to be with the one we love.

This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, (1 John 5:2-3 NIV)

Until we get to be with the one we love, people around can tell that something is different.  The one we love is always on our minds, so we end up talking about it.  We may show pictures, tell stories, or simply say, "You know, I'm just thinking about _______ again."  Our love for God manifests itself in much the same way.  The beautiful part, however, is knowing that God is doing the same thing for us.

We love because he first loved us.  (1 John 4:19 NIV)

As you go through your day today, remember that you don't need to hide it.  You can let it show.  You have someone you love and people are allowed to know...because the love is mutual.