The Need for Love

     “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a fragrant offering to God.” Ephesians 5:1

     Love seems to come in many different shapes and sizes today. What I mean by that is that there are many different meanings and expectations behind the word love. To be sure, there are times when these differences are appropriate and necessary, but in this we run the risk of missing what real God like love is in the end.

     The ability to love and be loved is established in us very early in life. From the womb a child begins to learn that love is both giving and receiving and that it becomes deeper and even takes on different forms the older we get. At that time it matters little what the definitions of love may be, all that matters is if I am receiving it or not.

           What happens when the foundations of this love is damaged or missing? How does this affect us as we grow older, especially when we might be in a position to be the one doing the teaching and establishing of this love in our own child? Can a “love deficit” be restored? Is there healing for me with the possibility for me to really love others?

            The day that Adam and Eve were “driven” out of the Garden of Eden, the foundations of love took a major hit that has caused a ripple effect throughout all of mankind. That day, being driven out of a place of living daily in and being sustained by the Father’s love, the foundation within both Adam and Eve was shaken and damaged. Try as we might, people who have damaged foundations will pass on a certain level of that damage to their children!

            Where do we find something that we have lost? Are you ready for this profound and deep answer? When we loose something we can generally find it where we left it. So, if we are living with this love deficit we can usually find it right where we lost it…back at our foundation.

            For us personally, that would be in our childhood, and generally, it would be in Christ who came to restore us back into the place of living in the Father’s love. (John 14:6) For me, it takes both and I believe that the more we have our foundation restored the more we are able to understand and then live in the Father’s love!

            Yes, Christ died for our sins and through His sacrifice on the cross we who invite Him into our hearts and rest on His salvation, will spend eternity with Him. But, I think we often miss the major benefit of the cross while we are here on the earth. You see, Christ made a way for us to get into heaven, but of far greater importance perhaps, He made it possible for the Father to come to us.

            Through Christ we can once again enjoy the intimate fellowship with the Father that was lost on this side of Eden. In the Garden, man would have never feared, wanted or worried. In Christ, we can once again live in this place of complete trust and peace knowing that all of our needs would be met.

            The more we undertake to be freed of the past the more able we are to embrace the future. It is in this place that we really learn not to just love, but to live a life of love. I want to encourage you today to know that there is hope.

            Anger, bitterness, resentment and hatred are all barriers that keep us from experiencing all that the Father has for us. The good news is that He supplies us with everything we need to deal with these sensitive, often very hurtful experiences. The only real question then is if we are willing to trust Him enough to get through this.

            The choice is ultimately ours. I can choose to stay right where I am and to continue to feel the loneliness, insecurity, inferiority, and sense of abandonment, or I can choose to be set free. What will you choose?

Vince Mercardante Sr.