The Joy of Serving the Lord 

   There have been times in my life when I have known joy and happiness.  But what I have discovered is that joy and happiness is not, and can never be, complete unless I am serving my Lord.  Only then can I come to know the happiness that He desires for me.

   I can love someone dearly, but I can love them even more dearly by offering all of my love to God first and foremost.  When I give Him all my love He blesses me with so much more love that it’s amazing.  I can love others better and more completely because I’ve loved Him first.

   Even in marriage, I am confident that spouses would find that their love will grow deeper and more secure if God is their first love.  Then He would ensure they have the kind of love that He wishes them to have for each other, a love that really can’t be found anywhere but in our Lord.

   I’ve often tried to think of how I can possibly repay God for all the blessings He has brought to my life, those from many years ago, those from even a few weeks ago, or even those He has given me this day.  All I have is essentially on loan from God; they are also His gifts to me.  So I have nothing to give but my heart.

   The only recompense for love is love in return; love without conditions or demands but the pure love that was intended from the beginning.