What is fervent love? Whose love could we describe as fervent? What does this kind of love look like? Fortunately, we have examples!
Fervent Love – An Example
Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him (Psalm 103:13).
That is Psalm 103:13 and it’s a great starting point for fervent love! Sometimes God uses the roles we lead in order to underscore His Word. This verse has come to mind many times in the past several days. We see our children and their struggles and we yearn for them, hurt for them, and have compassion for them. But, we seldom realize our Heavenly Father is doing the same for us.
The difference is, His compassion for us is far more intense than anything we can know. What we do imperfectly and incompletely, He does perfectly and fully. His ways and thoughts are so beyond our own.
Yet, to know this truth about Him helps us understand His love for us. What a comfort (and challenge) it is to know that He wants the best for me even more than I want the best for myself and those close to me. And there is more!
The same compassion we feel for our own, and the compassion He has for us, is the compassion we are to have for one another. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8, NASB). Notice the word fervent. The original language carries the idea of an athlete’s muscles straining for achievement. His love for us is like that. He is not passive in His love, He is active and aggressive. His love pursues us.
Fervent Love – The Challenge
God has loved each of us fervently. His demonstrations of that are many. He says in Jeremiah 29:11, I know the plans I have for you, not to harm you, but to prosper you and give you a hope and a future. One way this promise comes to reality is through the people He has placed in our lives to demonstrate His love for us. No human will love perfectly, but a Godly spouse, devoted Christian parents, grandparents, a mentor, a brother or a sister, or a close friend have all been used by God to show His love to His children. As encouraging as that is, it also carries a challenge.
God’s love is something to be experienced and shared. Who is God wanting to love through you? God loves your spouse, your children, your siblings, your friends, and your co-workers just as much as He loves you. Do they know God loves them?
Soli Deo Gloria!
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