Contemplative Bible Reading

Romans 5:5 (New International Version 2010)

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

There are times when I read the Bible from a simple perspective. The recent reading of this verse was one of those times. Consider the center phrase in this verse.

The Apostle Paul does not

• ask God to fill his heart with love
• hope one day to be filled with God’s love
• claim God’s love in his heart and ask that the Christians in Rome will also receive that love

Nope. Paul writes that

God’s love has been poured into our hearts

God’s love has been poured into the hearts of those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the one anointed to redeem us and bring us back to God.

This means, among other things, that

• I have all the love in my heart that I could ever need
• I have no excuse for not loving every person I ever meet or hear about or read about or see on TV or…
• If I do not love people, I must be doing something else with God’s love
• If I just get over myself, I am capable of loving everyone all the time
• The love that God gives is probably not the same love that Baskin and Robbins gives
• I may have to decide if I really believe these words that Paul wrote through inspiration

The list could go on.

God, thank you for pouring your love into my heart. Help me to share that love as you have intended, and not the way I may sometimes want to dole it out bit by bit.