Morning Devotional

January 16, 2004

"All the Way" 

by Don Emmitte

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And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. (John 3:14-17 NLT).

I am glad to be back from my meetings in Miami. Although the weather was perfect for this time of the year, and the accommodations great, I really enjoy being “at home.” We stayed in a brand new hotel for our conference, the Ritz-Carlton South Beach. It is billed as a 1950’s Art Deco styled hotel. I’m not sure what that means completely, although I do know the style of architecture and furnishings were right out of the fifties! It was a very nice hotel. It reminded me a little of the opulence you see on some of the documentaries detailing that time.

One evening late, after a group dinner off-site, Mary and I decided to go to the hotel restaurant and have desert. In the background they had some 50’s music playing. One of the songs was by Frank Sinatra, titled, "All The Way." One particular line of the romantic ballad goes like this, "When somebody loves you, it's no good unless they love you all the way." There is a great truth in that line.

Love should be all encompassing and able to overcome even the most difficult of circumstances. Anything less than total love will crumble at the slightest wind of turmoil, and perhaps this is why so many marriages do not make it for the long haul? Love can come in many shapes and forms, such as love from parent to child and love amongst best friends, but the sacred bond of matrimony demands that the special type of martial love it takes to sustain a happy and lasting relationship between husband and wife must be present. Such a love offers our partner the best of our being, forgiving and compromising when roads become a little rough. This love endures all; the sweetness along with the bitter tears, and no longer are the two individuals regarded as separate, but one.

God's relationship with His children is no different. He is not just with us when waters are smooth, but He is there when waves come crashing over the sides of our boat, and sinking seems inevitable. His love for us is so great that it can succeed where even man has failed, overcoming the worst of odds through His miraculous ways. When man may turn his back on us, our Heavenly Father never does. God offers us total love, but it is up to us to make a relationship with Him. Today, won't you invite God in to your heart and life, and there you can begin to experience love all the way!