Artist: Sean Seal

19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; Deuteronomy 30:19,20

Life and death are set on a table before us. We choose one or the other. The choice made to join in a covenant with God sustains and preserves the frailty of our lives [a]. We are obedient in the covenant we choose with life through God.

Life is a blessing – death a cursing. We make the choice of life. An eternal choice with the sponsorship of our most loving Father through His grace. His grace personified in the person of Jesus Christ, who we join with and learn a love beyond all other. In our choice we have life – for Jesus is life and the truth of all mystery shall unfurl like a sail that catches a fresh wind. The fresh wind blows to us and we are filled with His spirit. The Spirit is wind that refreshes and sees our desire to be closer and press into our God. The Spirit sees us and knows us, so He helps us to be the servant we desire. God is pleased.

Our love for God is unwavering. We are a part of this love which is the love most high, again, manifest in Jesus Christ. As we are of this love we too emanate a love that is unwavering. We do not regret that we did not love enough yesterday or vow we will love more tomorrow. We love steadily and on His path today. Unwavering and constant. Eternal.

So, as we are confident in our love for our Father, then we too are confident of our love for all man. Our compassion will not ebb and flow like the waves on the shore. It shall engross our outward perspective. It shall not be cut short over emotion because the love we commune in with Jesus is higher than emotion. It is steady. As you may not doubt your constant love for God,  do not discount your ability to overcome your feelings and emotion as you love in this world.

The emotion, we collide with, for the ones around us must not captivate our heart, but must hone our perception of what godly love is. As we feel, we focus on God and overcome emotion, then love as Jesus loves. Unending and unwavering. Our Father sees us try to places many opportunities in our lives to sharpen our hearts with a fresh and outward love. A love unaffected by the fouling breeze of this world. We surpass this in Jesus.

We have confidence. I implore to equate this: We love our God admittedly always and steadily. We therefore love our family without the ups and downs of feelings. And on: we love those all around us in this fashion.

For feelings are not the end, but are part of the means that capture our eye toward God. Just as in trials, we do not succumb to the means, but seek wisdom in the end. The end is an acute focus on God. He speaks to us in this way. He demonstrates His love through all means. The most common is our feelings and emotions.

Bypass the urge to get captured in your emotion. We are emotional by nature; but, remember, our prerogative is to love and  this love is like the sea – not like the lapping waves on the sand, ebbing and flowing. Praise God for His revelation. He is truly a loving God. I commit myself to this love. His love.

Rick Stassi

2/1/2012