LOVE IS ALL AROUND
Some seem to believe that heaven has withdrawn and that love is a distant thing, reserved for brighter days or holier people. Yet the testimony of God’s word contradicts such despair, declaring that the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord, that His mercy surrounds us even when we do not perceive it (Psalm 33:5; 139:5-6). Love is not scarce in God’s world. It is abundant, poured out like light at dawn, resting upon the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). The problem is seldom the absence of love; it is the dullness of our sight.
There was a song made popular in the 1960s by The Troggs, a simple refrain declaring that love is all around, not something to be earned or chased, but something already present if one would only feel it in the fingers and in the toes. Though written as a romantic expression, the thought rises higher when viewed through the lens of the gospel. For the believer, love is not merely an emotion drifting through the air; it is the very character of God Himself, who has drawn near in Christ (1 John 4:8-10). The Christian does not grope for love as though it were hidden. He awakens to find himself already surrounded by it, upheld by it, sustained by it.
Sammy Davis Jr. also touched upon this theme of love’s nearness. His rendition of “Love Is All Around,” a song first written by Sonny Curtis for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, is epic. His voice, rich and expressive, carries the theme beyond mere television sentiment and into something more personal, almost confessional. There is a warmth in his delivery, a suggestion that love is not distant or abstract, but present and pressing in upon the soul, waiting to be noticed. And yet, how much fuller does that truth become when we lift our eyes to Christ, for the love that surrounds us in this world finds its deepest meaning in the love that has come to dwell within us by faith (Ephesians 3:17-19).
Oh, that we would train our hearts to recognize this divine presence. The breath in your lungs is a gift of love. The Scriptures open before you are a letter written in love. The cross stands as the eternal declaration that love has not only come near but has borne our sin and carried our sorrow (John 3:-6; Romans 5:6-8; Isaiah 53:4-5). When we say that love is all around, we do not speak vaguely; we speak of a crucified and risen Savior who fills all things and draws all things to Himself (Ephesians 1:22-23; John 12:32).
Yet there is a solemn warning hidden within such abundance. If love is truly all around, then our failure to perceive it is not due to its absence but to our neglect. We walk through a world drenched in mercy while complaining of drought. We sit beneath the cascade of grace while lamenting thirst. Let us repent of such blindness and ask the Lord to open our eyes, that we might behold wondrous things out of His love (Psalm 119:18; 2 Kings 6:17).
And when the heart is awakened, everything changes. The believer begins to see love in providence and in trial, in correction and in comfort, in the quiet whisper and in the roar of His power (Psalm 29:3-4). Love is no longer a fleeting feeling but a constant reality, as steady as the throne of God and as enduring as His Word.
So let the world sing its songs, and let them carry whatever fragments of truth they may. But let the Christian sing a fuller song, one that rises above sentiment into certainty, declaring that love is not merely around us, it has redeemed us, claimed us, and will never let us go (Romans 8:38-39; John 10:27-29).
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O Lord of everlasting love, open our eyes to behold the fullness of Your mercy surrounding us each day. Deliver us from blindness and coldness of heart, and teach us to rest in the love revealed in Jesus Christ. Let us walk in the assurance that we are held, guided, and kept by Your gracious hand. And may our lives reflect that love to a world longing to see it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
BDD
