Dangerous Territory

Last week as I rushed around trying to get ready to take a quick trip to Virginia to see my parents and bring my baby girl and her baby car home from college, I took a few minutes to mop my bathroom floor.  I’m not sure why, but God always seems to be able to speak to me best when I’m doing something like that.  I had a song playing in my head, the Eagles singing “Take It Easy”.  There’s a line in it that says, “Looking for a lover who won’t blow my cover, she’s so hard to find.”  Yes, I know, this is not praise and worship music, but as those words rolled through my mind, I heard that quiet voice in my heart that I know is the Lord.  Here’s what He spoke to me through those lyrics.  If we get into the dangerous territory of real love we will find that our cover always gets blown.  Am I willing to let people know me?  Not the made-for-public- consumption version, whitewashed and airbrushed, but the real person that lives inside my skin? 

In 1 Thessalonians 2:8, Paul tells the believers, “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”  Most of the time, it isn’t enough to hear the truth from someone.  We want to hear it wrapped in love from someone who is willing to share not just the truth, but “their very selves” as the English Standard Version of the above verse reads.   Real love is not for sissies.  It requires of us that we push past our fears, and insecurities.  It means being brave enough to have the hard conversations when offenses have occurred.  It means being willing to work through problems instead of pulling away.  Real love isn’t easy, but it truly is the only kind worth having.  Today, I want to encourage you to take another look at your relationships.  Are you still keeping up a pretense with those who should be trusted with your very self?  Do you need to take some hurts to your Abba Father for healing so that you can be willing to be real with those who love you?  More and more, I am coming to believe that in our hearts we are all so much the same.  We all have those same feelings of being different from everybody else.  We have all heard the same lies from the enemy our entire lives.  We all have the option of choosing to hide or coming out from behind our walls and living in the sunlight of true love.  It is scary, but so worth it. 

Abba Father, please give us the courage and grace to love and allow ourselves to be loved.  Please help us bring our hearts to you to have the thorns pulled out of the sore places.  Help us be brave enough to face the pain of pulling them out instead of just living with the ache.  Thank You for being a God of truth AND mercy.  We love you.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.