Look for Love

But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. – Deuteronomy 30:17-18 A few weeks ago, my friend told me the story of how he met his car. Him and his wife found themselves in need of a new vehicle after their previous one died unexpectedly. Having immediately turned to the internet, they arrived at buying a well kept, used Prius. After visiting numerous sites and speaking with friends who had purchased Prius’ in the past, all they could think about was the Prius, especially after learning that their friend, Jonathan, rides around in a gas guzzling, full sized, SUV. Whenever they were out, they saw countless people driving one. It was as if Toyota had secretly planted Prius’ all over their city in order to convince them to buy one. Needless to say, the Prius was all he talked about. I think that loving God and idolatry works in a similar way. Just as my friends anticipated to see the Prius around town (because they wanted one and sold themselves on it), God’s love becomes visible if we choose to look for it. Likewise, if we’re not looking for it, then we will be drawn to what we are looking for– our idols. It’s not so much that we work extra hard to develop an eye for experiencing God. Rather, it’s that we posture ourselves to carry a mindset that welcomes and looks for God’s love in our lives. You see, turning away from God and His love leads to death; but “loving God, and obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them” is choosing life (Deut 30:20). Unfortunately, many of us often forget that God reveals Himself to those who are looking for Him. They choose not to see the great things of God that swirl around them in their environment. They lose out because they turn a blind eye to God and settle for less. Let’s look for love because it abounds.