When was the last time a moment in your life left an indelible mark? Something you had a feeling would last forever?
When Frank was a child he took a school field trip that marked his life like that.
That day Frank and his classmates were taken to Jinja, a town in eastern Uganda where the waters from Lake Victoria start separating from the waters of the Nile River.
It is called The Source of the River Nile. And from there the Nile begins its four-thousand mile journey.
The actual spot is marked by a sign post that can be reached by motorboat. In dry seasons you can step onto a concrete slab by the signpost for photos.
It would be several years before Frank would return to the source. On his second visit he took Darlene, to share with her a piece of his own personal history.
And on that same concrete slab he knelt down and proposed to her, at The Source of the River Nile.
Allowing the same site to leave a similar indelible mark upon her life.
God is the source of love.
Jesus is the greatest example of love that ever lived, but God has always been the source.
CK Barrett wrote that, “Love is an activity, the essential activity of God himself. And when men love either Him or their fellow-men, they are doing (however imperfectly) what God does”.
Why should we love?
Sure, it’s a simple answer: Because God loves us. Because the Bible tells me so. Because Jesus showed us how.
But we can’t simply be cavalier about it all, or it strips love of its value and power.
Love costs. Love hurts. Love makes us immensely vulnerable.
Loving always comes at a price.
Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul gives us a clear, simple reason to pursue love:
These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Follow the way of love
1 Corinthians 13:13-14:1 NLT
As we “follow the way of love”, we will find ourselves turning often to God, and returning to the source.
Because God is the source of love.
And without being connected to the source of love, we’ll never have enough love in us to complete our own journeys.
Love is an activity, the essential activity of God himself. And when men love either Him or their fellow-men, they are doing (however imperfectly) what God does.
That’s worship.
–Pastor Steve