A Love Born Of God

Love does not seem to mean what it used to. People say they love all the time but love is deeper than some emotion. It is deeper than a feeling. Love goes to the heart and to the will. Love is more work and sacrifice than gushy feelings. People say they love and yet divorce. They say they love but give up family and friends in the tough times. Employers say they love their employees until tough economic times come.

There was a time when love could  keep a man and woman bound together through thick and thin. Love stirred many people to follow the call of God to some distant shore as a missionary. Love has bonded the hearts of teammates. Love has often moved leaders to think of the well being of the masses and prompted them to public office.  Love spawns admiration and gratitude from a child to a parent.

While all these forms of love are good, it is not what is on my mind today. Today I am thinking of a different kind of love. A love so deep it can only be born of God. It is a supernatural kind of love. A love manifesting itself in sacrifice and service. It is a love so supernatural it can demand tough love at one moment and tender affection in the next.

It is the only kind of love known of a pastor for his flock. O, I know. There are plenty of preachers who abuse and use people for selfish agendas. These are not pastors. I know there are scoundrels in the pulpits these days manipulating congregations and greedily padding their pockets with the good tithes and offerings of hard working church members. Such so called men of the cloth use people for selfish gains. They do not love the people they serve.

How many flocks have been wounded by preachers coming in like a tornado ripping the congregation apart and then moving on to the next church. Over time such churches become untrusting and protective. As the years pass they lump all preachers together and can run off the good ones with the bad ones.

It is a blessed thing when a pastor and a flock connect. The only love I know that surpasses it is the love between a husband and his wife. The love of a pastor for his flock and a flock for their pastor is like a wedded kind of love. It is a supernatural kind of love.

It took me a long time to learn this. Just because a church calls a new preacher does not mean that preacher is their pastor. It takes time to become a true pastor. You have go through some hard times together, minister to people in times of crisis and tragedy and grieve with them in times of sorrow. You have to fearlessly preach God's word behind the pulpit and tenderly hold the member's hands in the hospitals and funeral homes. A preacher earns the right to become a shepherd to his flock. When this happens a supernatural love that only be born of God transpires.

It is a pure, holy, and enduring love. When a church knows they have such a pastor they will trust his leadership. They know that pastor will lead in such a way that he only has the congregation's best interest at heart.

Only a pastor can know of what I write today. I do think others can experience something supernatural. It might be a Sunday School teacher for her class or a music minister for a choir. A love born of God can develop between men and women in a fellowship group.

O, but there is something downright supernatural that happens when God weds the heart of a pastor to a flock and the hearts of the flock to a pastor. It is love that can only be born of God.