All Talk but No Heart!

He was 46 years old and a professed believer. As he spoke to me in private, he shared with me he was having a mid-life crisis. He has been married for 23 years and related how his marriage relationship had changed and found it unfulfilling. His final words rang in my ears, "I just don't love her anymore! Am I free to move on with my life and be happy?" The statement and question are both loaded with fleshly desires. I asked one simple question, "Is she in Christ?" He nodded his head yes. I pointed out that she is not only your wife, but your sister in Christ. His face became set. I proceeded, "Would you simply love her as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her?" He grimmiced and said, "You don't realize what you're asking of me." I questioned, "Then would you love her as a sister in Christ?" His face grew more gloomy. As silence hit for a few seconds, I asked the final question, "If you don't love her anymore, and refuse to love her as Christ loved the church or as a sister in Christ, would you love her as your enemy and pray for her?" He shook his head back and forth and stated, "Why are you making things so difficult for me?"

Over the years I have had people come with the same mind set as this man. People who profess to believe in the Lord Jesus yet when it comes down to following Him, they balk. They want the eternal life Christ has to offer, but on their own terms. Our Lord and Savior does not work that way! (Just read Luke 18:18-27) It has to be your heart willing or you get nothing. So many are miserable because they are not willing to walk where the Lord wants them to walk with all their heart and find themselves trapped in their own desires.

Why do people fall "out of" love with their mate? Because they fail to practice the love of God for their mate! The one that does not love does not know God (I John 4:7-8). The one that does not know God does not have eternal life. The one that does not love takes up living in death (I John 3:14). It's not a mid-life crisis! It's a love for the Lord crisis! If a husband or wife finds themselves struggling with their love for one another, they need to examine their relationship with the Lord! That's where the problem really lies. Put on Christ and His love and walk in His love and you will find the love that you thought was missing. If one refuses, it will only take them deeper and deeper into themselves and their own desires while destroying the marriage relationship as well as their relationship with the Lord. It is easy to talk about the Lord and His ways, but if our heart is not tied to the Lord, with a willingness to love Him and follow, then we are all talk and no heart!