Love, through Heaven's eyes.

Love.

It's a four letter word that has been overused, faked, shouted, whispered, repeated, and abused. It is a feeling that at times seems so simple yet is unfathomably complex. Cultures and nations around the world struggle to put it into context and flesh out the true meaning of a feeling that seems to be present in every mortal psyche, heart, and mind. It's a word that represents an interesting phenomena that every man and woman have struggled to solve for themselves. It's time we address love, or at least love in a romantic sense for today.

Welcome back to the tub. It's been a hot minute since I last wrote to you! The tub moved places once or twice, but now, it's back here where it belongs. And I've been wanting to write about the feeling we call love for a looooooong time. Partly because my mortal mind struggles with defining just what love is, and because I think it's important we tread carefully around a subject so powerful and holy. Let's get right into it.

What is love? Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more.

Sorry for that, had to get it out of my system. But seriously, what is love? Google defines love as "an intense feeling of deep attraction." Fair enough, but is that it? Can we really boil down this passionate emotion we call love into a six word definition? Not the kind of love I'm talking about. I'm talkin' bout real love. Godly love. Love that is so serious, so scandalous, so passionate, that it paid the ultimate price so that Creator and creation could experience intimacy and real, unfiltered, holy love together once more and for all time. It is this love that allows us as people to love each other in a romantic sense. Turn to the book of 1 John and 1 Corinthians and we'll learn you just what true love is.

Real quick, I could honestly preach sermon series about love in the book of 1 John. There is so much there to cover that it is too much for the sake of the hot tub for your soul. So we're going to focus on the kind of romantic love we humans have for each other. There are many other types of love, but today I want to talk about this special kind. Some of you may have questions like, "How do I love my boyfriend/girlfriend in a Christian sense?" or "Is the love I feel real for this person?" I myself have struggled with many, many questions regarding how to love the way God would want me to.

Real love, like God, does not act outside of its own character. Real love has several qualities that should guide you in your relationship with your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend. Listen to the words of Paul regarding real, Godly love.

"Love is patient and kind; love does not boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends..." 

~1 Corinthians 13:4-8

This beautiful passage found in 1 Corinthians lays out just what real love from God should look like. In a Christ-like relationship, there is no place for fear or lust or guilt. Surely these things will come however, because we are human. Sin has crept up and poisoned every aspect of mortal life, so these negative emotions and feelings will flare up. However, let me tell you that Jesus Christ has conquered sin and love never ends my friend. In other words, love never fails.

You're scared your relationship will fail because the future is uncertain? Don't worry. Trust God and trust that love never fails. What if lust has infiltrated your mind and thoughts have led to actions? Don't worry. God forgives and love never fails. Is my love real for this boy/girl, and how do I know if this is what God wants? Align yourself with the Biblical definition of love and remember that love never fails. You ask how I know that love never fails? 1 John 4:7-8. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

 God is love, therefore love will never fail.

When you align yourself with the will of God and love someone the way He wants you to, all fear must flee, all lust will leave, and all guilt will go far, far away from this place and perfect Godly love will bring you ever closer to the one who is fighting this battle with you and for you. Because God has loved us, so can we love each other. No matter where you are in your relationship or where you have been, like Switchfoot said in their song, love alone is worth the fight.

To wrap things up, I'll leave you with this summary. At times you will have doubt and fear. You will wonder whether or not your love is real for this person or if it will burn bright enough to make it through to the end. I tell you this, God's love for you is real and is a raging fire reaching high into the night sky. Run to God, for it is He who allows you to love and remember for all time that real love will never fail.

Can we just talk about Romans 8:37-39?

Here we are again on a fine Sunday afternoon. Let's tub.

So my all-time favorite Bible passage is without a doubt Romans 8:37-39. Why? Because it encompasses everything the Bible is pointing towards. 

This morning at church the pastor gave a message on how the Old Testament points toward Jesus. If you look in Matthew 5:17-18, you'll see that Jesus claims that He did not come to abolish the law, but fulfill it. Now what does this exactly mean? In Jesus' day, there were hundreds of Jewish laws that covered anything from how to eat grapes to emulating God Himself. See, in those days the Jews expected the prophesied "messiah" to be someone who would liberate them from the oppressive Roman rule, a King David-esque savior who would come with thunder and lightning on a white horse. Rather, they got an entirely different type of savior. Rather than satisfying the Jews' earthly needs, Jesus came to heal humanity's previously permanent brokenness. So when Jesus says things like "I came to not to abolish the law but fulfill it," I'm sure it confused a lot of people. Every law, every statute, every command passed down in the Old Testament was pointing to Jesus. With Jesus' coming, death, and resurrection, we are freed from the laws guarding us against our natural sinfulness. While the Jews were stumbling to keep up with all 613 laws, Jesus came to finally show God's grace to a people who would be dead in the water without it. Not just for the Jews either, for the Gentiles, for you, and for me.

This is why I love what Paul writes in Romans 8. Paul is saying there is now no condemnation for those who have accepted Christ. We as humans are too broken, too sinful, too blind to attain righteousness for ourselves through the obedience of numerous holy laws. That's why God, in His infinite love and mercy, sent Jesus so that we could witness and experience the perfect fulfillment of the law with our own two eyes. After reinforcing these facts over and over, Paul erases all doubt in verses 37-39. Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

I encourage you to just take a few minutes, and sit back and think about these things. No matter how bad we mess up or how far away we feel, the law, our sin, even Satan himself cannot take us away from God's grace. Let that wash over you like chlorinated 102 degree Fahrenheit water. 

Our rad Dad socks some rocks.

Welcome back to the tub my friend. Let's simmer for a bit, shall we? Today is going to rock.

One day, a little boy was playing in his sandbox behind his house. He was having a great time, building little castles and digging around with his blue plastic shovel. As he continued to dig, he came upon a very large and very heavy rock. Incensed with the idea of a great big rock ruining his wonderful sandbox, the boy set out to remove the rock. The boy's father watched from the living room window as his son pushed, shoved, and labored over this huge rock in the sandbox. The boy tried to push, pull, and roll that rock out of the sandbox but to no avail. It seemed that with every grunt and bead of sweat the boy gave, the rock only seemed to get heavier. After a while the boy gave up, plopped down, and began to cry. His father came out of the house and asked him, "Son, why didn't you use all the strength you had to move the rock?" 

The boy replied, "But I did Daddy! I did use all the strength I had!"

"No son," the father answered kindly. "You didn't use all the strength you had. You didn't ask me."

With that the father bent down and heaved the great big rock out of his son's sandbox.

Many times in our lives, we attempt to move rocks without asking for help. We move one or two and then we begin to feel pretty good about ourselves. We pass an exam or resolve a conflict at work and begin to think to ourselves, "Hey, I've got this life thing figured out. I am totally self-sufficient. Like a lone wolf." We hit a hot streak and everything begins to go our way. Maybe we start to think, "Wow, I was in a dark place a while ago but look at how far I've come. I've braved the valley so now it's only fitting that I enjoy the mountaintop."

Oh, my dear child. Newsflash, some rocks are bigger than others. Some rocks you can't move on your own. Let me be the first to tell you; there will be rocks that you can't move on your own sooner or later.

It's easy to get over a failed exam. Done. Moved that rock. It's easy to write off that co-worker just as a cynical, stubborn man or woman with a Grinch complex. Done. Moved that rock. It's easy to feel better about skipping church when we justify it by the late night study sessions and diaper changes. Done. Moved that rock. But is it easy to deal with the fact that a loved one is suffering from a disease the doctors can't cure? No, but it's just one rock. Is it easy to move on after a long-term relationship ended the way you didn't want it to? No, but I can handle it. Is it easy to keep smiling even though you're struggling to pay the bills, keep the family together, and still find time to pray? Not at all. Do you see how some rocks pile up over time? All of a sudden, situations like these begin to crop up and we realize that we can't move these rocks on our own. Just like the little boy, our first reaction often times is to plop down, wail, and feel sorry for ourselves. We ask, "Why me? Why do bad things happen to good people?"

I wish I could tell you buddy. I truly do not know why bad things happen to good people. But I can offer you this verse from Romans, my favorite book of the Bible.

"For you did not receive the the spirit of slavery to fall

back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption

as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit

himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of

God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow

heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that

we may also be glorified with him. (Rom. 8:15-17)

How comforting it is to know that the supreme Creator of the universe let's us cry out in the first place. God knows the effects of mortality. He knows that awful things will happen to His children. But we serve a God who tells us, "My child, call out, Abba, Father. I am here. I have always been here." When we look at these insurmountable rocks in our lives and cry out to God, God answers. When we try to move these rocks alone, we aren't using all of our strength. I don't know about you, but the God who raised mountains into existence, beat the ocean waves into submission, and scattered the stars across the cosmos says that I can ask Him for help moving my life's rocks. Do you think He may be capable of moving yours?

I don't know where you are as you read this, fellow tubber. I don't know if you're dealing with many huge rocks, a few small rocks, or any rocks at all. But I do know there is a rock slide coming in the future, because that's just how this thing called life works. When you feel that the struggles and pains of this life are too much, I ask you to ask Dad for help. You see, when we ask for Dad's help, He gives it to us. Maybe not when we want it, but always when we need it. As children and heirs of God, we are privileged with the ability to boast in Christ's wonderful sacrifice. Our Dad loves us so much and wants to help us so bad that he rolled away the only rock that ever really mattered to us humans; the one that sealed Jesus' tomb. Jesus' defeat of death, that paramount, definitive action, reconnected us to God the Father permanently. As a result, we become conduits capable of weathering any storm, leaping over any obstacle, and moving any rock. All we need to do is ask.

"My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, then my power is made perfect in you."
(2 Corinthians 12:9)

(Email me at colbytoddmckeehan@gmail.com  or message me on Twitter if you'd like to talk about your rocks. Lord knows I like to chat.)

Regarding Jesus and Hot Tubs.

"A hot tub for my soul? What in the world does that even mean?"

Well, I'll tell you!

My name is Colby Todd McKeehan and every Sunday expect a post about anything ranging from Bible verses, to current events, or to really whatever is on my heart that particular week. Since this is the first official post, I will explain the meaning of the blog title and gloss over a few things I hope to accomplish as the author of this blog so that you, the reader, can fully understand just why you should join me here "in the hot tub" every Sunday for a little soul-searching and Jesus-teaching.

I don't know about you, but I freaking love hot tubs. Something about steeping myself in 102 degree Fahrenheit water for half an hour just resonates with me. My hot tub is located on the back porch of my house located in rural East Tennessee, where the cows graze on the hillsides and the cicadas sing their songs all summer long. There's no doubt in my mind that I've logged over 1,000 hours in that tub over the years. Hours of just simmering, thinking, and praying under the setting sun or the shining stars... just visualizing those Tennessee skies make me want to stop typing and run over to the tub this instant. That hot tub is where I go to have my big one-on-one's with God. When the noise of this world becomes deafening, when I have no where else to turn, and when I just want out, the hot tub becomes my oasis in the scorching desert with a direct line to He who holds all things together. The hot tub relaxes me physically, mentality, and at times spiritually. I began to wonder if and how I could share this peace with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, so I started this blog. By preaching the gospel and offering up my prayers, messages, and advice to anyone who may need them, I believe that God could do something big.

So, I'd like to bring the spiritual aspect of the hot tub to you, dear reader. I can't bring the physical aspects to you, for that you'll have to find your own oasis. However, everyone needs a little spiritual insights and advice every now and then, and I believe that this blog can provide you with those things. So this is my formal invitation to you, reader, that you let go of the troubles and worries of the week and come on down to the Hot Tub for your Soul every Sunday, where you and I can talk about a man named Jesus, what he has done, what he is doing, and how much he loves you and I.

~ Colby