Burning Love

“They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke‬ ‭24:32‬

Do you have a burning heart for God? When a person's heart is on fire for God there are 2 things he/she loves to do; talk with God and talk with others about God. After the two men on the road to Emmaus encountered Jesus they testified, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us...?" Before their eyes were open to know that Jesus was walking along side them, Jesus opened the scriptures and as Luke wrote, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke‬ ‭24:27‬). The more we know the love of God in Christ, who laid down His life for us, the more our hearts will burn with love for Him. And the more we know His love, the more we will want to make His love known to others through the person and work of Christ.

Commenting on the awesome truth that we are loved by God in Christ, Martyn Lloyd Jones wrote, “People often say, ‘I feel my love for God is so small.’ Quite right, I say the same thing. But the best cure is not to try to do things within yourself and work up some love from the depths of your being. The way to love God is to begin to Know God’s love to you, and this doctrine is the high road to that love. Therefore realize His interest in you. The God who has loved you to the extent of sending His only begotten Son to endure and to suffer all that for you loves you with a love that you will never understand, a love that passes knowledge. If we but knew God’s love to us, it would revolutionize our lives. The way to love God is to begin to know God’s love to you.”

When our hearts are not burning with love for God, they will burn with lust for other things that will not ultimately satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts. Giving into lust only fuels and increases our sinful appetites. Fire needs fuel. In order for our hearts to be set on fire for God and stay on fire we must talk with God often. God talks to us through His word and we talk to Him through prayer.

We also must talk with others who talk with God, who know His voice, and follow Him. As Bonhoeffer observed, “The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself.” When we seek the Lord with all our heart He will make Himself known to us and our heart will burn within us. As Spurgeon also noted: “Of all the things in the world that can set the heart burning, there is nothing like the presence of Jesus!"

Blessings,
Pastor Marco