I could eat you up I love you so!

I got to spend some sweet time with my siblings this past weekend. My brother turned 21! It was kinda crazy to think of him as an adult. To me he is my little brother. BUT it is neat that our relationship has transformed into a friendship. He no longer needs me to be the naggy older sister, but we get to have 'adult' conversations about politics and world affairs. I am so proud of the young man he is.

I also got to spend Monday with my littlest brother and sister. They are amazing and I love spending time with them. We made breakfast, ran errands, 'cooked' dirt pie (worms and all) and then watched movies. One of the movies we watched was Where the Wild Things Are. A line in the movie is: "I could eat you up, I love you so." Do you ever feel that way? Where you look at someone and think, I love this person so much I just could keep squeezing them? I know that I feel this way a lot. I have four great siblings who I love a lot, parents who I am thankful for, and friends who I consider family. All of them I love dearly. There are times when I truly feel that my heart will burst with love for these individuals.

Then I remember that God loves them even more. God loves them more than I do. He loves them more than I can understand. That his good for us is truly good. That there are times I don't understand why something happens or turns out the way it does, but God loves my family more than I do. We are made in his image, as Genesis tells. Unable to live a life that is sinless, God didn't leave us to die but sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die the sinners death. For those three hours God turned his face and let death over take Christ. The death that we should have died, Christ endured. Then three days later Christ rose from the dead. Conquering death and paying the cost of our sins. Christ rose. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.~John 3:16 We are God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved. Paul talks about Love throughout his letters. He tells of God's love for us. And the greatest of these is Love.

My question to you and to myself is do you love God so much that your heart could burst? I know I don't. So many times I put the things I love before God. But God's love for me should be the reason that I love.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12, Matthew 22, Luke 10, and Deut. 6:5)