A Week by the Sea
I spent the last week with family on the white sandy shores of the Emerald Coast. My mornings were spent on the 16th-floor balcony of our rental, coffee in hand, watching dolphins play in the waves. We had traveled to Florida to escape the Colorado winter and to plan my daughter’s wedding—a beautiful, relaxing time filled with precious memories.
But after a long travel day back to Colorado on Monday, yesterday, I woke up in a funk. I wasn’t ready to return to reality. I honestly don’t know if I ever will be. I love Colorado, of course, but there’s something about a warm, tropical place—where the mundane tasks of daily life fade into the background—that makes everything feel a little easier. But real-life calls, responsibilities wait, and there are suitcases to unpack.
Meeting God in the Funk
I poured myself a cup of coffee, cracked open my Bible and Morning and Evening by Spurgeon, and asked God to meet me where I was—to lift my spirits and reset my heart.
If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that Spurgeon and I are close friends—or at least as close as a 19th-century English preacher and a 52-year-old housewife/photographer can be. He has helped shaped who I am today, and I’ve been reading his devotional for most of my adult life. You might think I’d have found a new one by now, but every day, it speaks to me as if I’m reading it for the first time. Spurgeon has a way of painting Jesus’ words in vivid colors, bringing them to life in a way few others can.
A Love Beyond Comprehension
Yesterday’s devotional was on John 15:9: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." Read that again. As Almighty God—the Maker of heaven and earth—loves His Son, so the Son loves me! How can this be? With David, I’m compelled to say, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain unto it!" (Psalm 139:6).
Spurgeon helped break down the ways in which the Father loves the Son. Here is my summary of his:
1. A Love Without Beginning
"I have loved thee with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3). I can trace the beginning of my love for God. There was a time when I did not love Him, when my heart was cold. But His love for me is "a stream whose source is hidden in eternity." Before I was formed, before I had breath, before my name was spoken—He had already loved me.
2. A Love That Never Changes
The Father’s love for the Son has never wavered, and Christ’s love for us is just as constant. Regardless of my sins and struggles, whether I stand on a mountaintop in triumph or tread the valleys of sorrow, His love remains the same. Whether I rest on a safe shore or feel battered by stormy seas, "His heart is faithful to His ancient choice."
3. A Love That Never Ends
"The Father loves the Son without any end, and thus does the Son love His people." Christ’s love will never cease. The world will fade, kingdoms will crumble, but His love endures. “Even in death, He goes with me. And not only into the grave, but up again He will guide me to the celestial hills.”
4. A Love Without Limits
"The whole heart of Christ is dedicated to His people; He loved us and gave Himself for us" (Eph. 5:2). No love in this world compares to His. The love of a spouse, a mother, a father, a friend—these all have limits. But the love of Christ knows no measure. He emptied Himself for me, took my place, bore my shame, and gave Himself wholly so that I may be His forever.
5. A Love Beyond Understanding
Paul prayed that we might comprehend "the breadth, and length, and depth, and height" of this love, yet concluded that it "passeth knowledge" (Eph. 3:18-19). “Ah! We have indeed an immutable Savior, who loves without measure, without change, without beginning, without end—even as the Father loves Him.”
What This Means for Us
If Christ loves us in these ways, what does that mean for us today?
- We can stop striving. His love is not earned; it is already given in full measure.
- We are never alone. No valley, no storm, no night is too dark for His love to reach us.
- We have security. His love is not based on my performance but on His eternal, unchanging nature.
- We can love others. If Christ loves us without condition, how then shall we withhold love from those around us?
A Perspective Shift
As I sat with these truths, I felt the weight of my funk begin to lift. My emotions hadn’t caught up yet, but my feet were once again being set on a rock—the firm foundation of His unchanging love. My perspective shifted. My heart was steadied. The same God who met me on the warm shores of the Emerald Coast was with me now, here in the ordinary, calling me to continue the race set before me, knowing that I run it in His love.
His love will never change. His love will never end. His love is without limit. Spurgeon says, “There is much food here for those who know how to digest it.”
Take this truth into your heart today and rest in it: "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love."
If you'd like to grab a copy of Spurgeon's Morning and Evening, you won't regret it!
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