In 1967, Louis Armstrong wrote a song, ‘What a Wonderful World.’ It brimmed with a child’s optimism and celebrated simple things. It was sung in iconic Armstrong style. And it’s true. There’s much to love in this world. Everybody has a list of their many loves. My short list: the better half of the Freeman & Freeman team (thanks for being you, Babe), sunrises and sunsets, listening to the waves at the beach, gooey brownies still warm from the oven, a comfy corner with a good book, and restoring order. Lots of other loves abound that are likely on your list.
There are also negative things that are loved today in our world. Things that are destructive, things that are hurtful, things that sound like the lists the Apostle Paul wrote in letters to churches 2000 years ago. Comparing those lists then and now confirms the unchanged heart of man and serves to debunk the voices saying mankind is getting better with time. I’m sure the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah, would feel affirmed, albeit in a sad way, in penning God’s words in 17:9 VOICE: “the heart is most devious and incurably sick.”
The word ‘love’ itself has been so trivialized and sullied and ‘jargoned’ as to render it devoid of one clear meaning. Our entertainment world has taken full advantage of them all. It’s almost as if someone is deliberately obscuring the true word, so that its origin stays hidden from view. Maybe it’s even an effort to prevent the discovery of love’s power. More, maybe it’s a seductive, global war to prevent anyone from finding Him Who is Love. The Apostle Paul wrote: “ . . . even Satan transforms himself to appear as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14, TPT. The song, One More Day, begins with: ‘I’m a sinner grace is still healing. I’m a story time is revealing . . .’ Since this is the journey we are all on, caution is advised as we choose our loves, that none set out to distract our souls from the One, the Lover of our Souls.
Lesser loves certainly abound, but none can even begin to compare with God’s Love for us, His Beloved, His adopted ones. The Apostle Paul sounded overwhelmed with God’s love as he wrote to the church family in Ephesus: “the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions . . . endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding . . .” Ephesians 3:20 TPT. I’m looking forward to being overwhelmed with y’all tomorrow, 10 AM, 3 PM, FR, 4 PM UK. PD
