By Kesha Webb
Often times I reflect on God's love and I am overwhelmed. This morning I was curious about His secret sauce. What is the main ingredient of God's love that makes Him so DELICIOUS! So I began to break down the ingredients of His love in an attempt to find God's secret sauce. Maybe I could recreate His recipe and make my love delicious too.
I started with the fruit of the Spirit since its a healthy choice and a major food group. Love is the first ingredient. I love that God loves me but love has been so misused in our society that when I hear the words “I Love you” it often loses its taste. It's used so much it begins to get stale.
Joy is the next ingredient but what about the days when I am feeling frustrated or super sad. Joy is a sweet seasoning but it has the tendency to lose its flavor also.
Peace is a strong spice that is recognized
immediately, especially after a battle. However, with every challenge I find myself needing to add more peace to maintain the flavor.
Long-suffering or Forbearance is a bitter taste that is needed in the recipe to balance the flavors. However no one, not even God, could stomach Long-suffering without the other ingredients. Its similar to eating a tablespoon of nutmeg without the cinnamon and sugar. Yuck!
Next is kindness and goodness. They are like High-Fructose corn syrup. If you have a sweet tooth like me, you would throw out the rest of the ingredients and eat it straight from the bottle. Adversely, too much of it will make your soul obese, addicted to "sweet nothings" , and give your spirit chronic diabetes. Portion control is the key. Be kind but honest. Be good yet don’t enable.
Then Gentleness. Oh yes! Gentleness is like a tall cup of coffee, with a good book, on a easy breezy day. Unfortunately every day is not easy or breezy and most days you have to drink your coffee on the go.
Which brings us to self-control. Self-control is like salt. It is needed in practically every recipe. Salt balances and enhances the flavor. It also preserves the ingredients to last longer. Self-control preserves us to go the distance, to balance life, and maintain the fruit of the spirit in tough times. Although this is a powerful ingredient, its not the secret sauce.
The secret sauce of Gods love is FAITHFULNESS! Yes I was surprised too! Faithfulness is a binding ingredient. If not for His faithfulness and commitment to us His love would have no integrity. He loved us so much that He faithfully rendered His Son on the cross. Even His mercy and grace, generously given to us each day, would lose strength without the consistency of Gods divine faithfulness.
He is faithful to give us peace, faithful to be kind, good, and gentle. He faithful to suffer long and forbear our mistakes. Oh and when He has reached His threshold of forbearance, He is extremely faithful to control His anger. Yep, I am convinced that faithfulness is the Secret Sauce of Gods Love!
God, thank you for the example you give us. May we follow your lead in everything we do and receive the strength from you to remain faithful.