GROVE, OK – “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’”—Hebrews 13:5 (NIV).
Telemarketers are annoying. If the salesperson is the persistent kind, he usually won’t take “no” for an answer easily. Even the nicer ones can grate on the nerves, especially if the promises seem too good to be true.
Since I signed up for the Do Not Call list over two decades ago, the number of phone calls I receive from telemarketers has declined. Another reason could be attributed to my lack of a home phone. I finally cut the cord about six years ago, depending on my cell phone—which is also on the list—for verbal communication. However, I occasionally still receive unwanted calls, including those I know are scams.
I’m always amazed at the proliferation of different scams as well as those who fall for them. In spite of repeated warnings from different news sources, people hang onto hope that they’ve won large amounts of money, vacations or other goods.
Criminals will go to any lengths to steal our money and identity. It never seems to end. While the elderly are the most vulnerable, I’ve read of those who’ve been scammed out of money through dating websites.
Listening to a radio program recently, I was amazed to learn that the number one Internet google search is “What is love?” As the commentator and his guest discussed this trend, I thought about the lyrics to a 1980 country song, “Lookin’ for Love.” Part of the lyrics follow: “Searching for love in all the wrong places.”
The radio show host said, “So many are lonely. They’re looking for people and possessions to fill that emptiness in their hearts that can only be satisfied by a loving God.”
Though many of God’s promises reinforce His great love for us, many, including Christians, have difficulty believing. They turn to other people to fulfill them. They chase wealth, power and experiences to fill that God-sized hole.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
From the beginning, God placed in each of us a craving for a relationship with Him. He loved us so much, that He gave His only Son, “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
In Romans 5:8, the Apostle Paul reminds us that “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Do you find it hard to comprehend the depth of that love? Even when we’ve accepted Jesus as our Savior, we often find it unfathomable to grasp “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18).
It’s almost too good to be true. But God’s love is unconditional, unwavering and free to those who will accept it.
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