"Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards." (S.O.S. 4:8)
Then there is this, this command in the form of an invitation and an offer; something of a road-sign, but more of a one-way sign, that points directly to heaven. It does not take too much pain and disappointment to make us cry out for help, but it sometimes will take something tragic to make us change our direction of sight; to move from looking for the physical and material help, to the help that matters most: our love for God!
First of all, this is an invitation of a lifetime; but the point of which, the life is somewhere else. That is probably the biggest mistake that we make, thinking that heaven is just something of the hereafter, and that it is something we look forward to, after we die; in the meantime, we live and enjoy what this life here has to offer; counting all of these wonderful blessing that God allows us to enjoy. Don't get me wrong, I do not believe that we should all just forget about material things and live in caves; God allows us these things to have, but these things should not take possession of us!
Secondly, and most importantly, we must make it our priority to follow Jesus; something that may or may not require that we give up some stuff. I know, it might not seem all that much of a big deal, if you don't have much to begin with; but even having nothing at all, does not mean that things do not own you. Paul had this thing that he shared, where he mentioned his weakness to sin, saying, "I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, "You must not covet." (Romans 7:7b)
This is more about where your heart is and how you look at the world; whether or not your treasure is here, or if your treasure is where it belongs, in heaven! I only wish that I could say I have mastered this in my own life; it is seriously not something that is won and done. You can try so hard to make it your goal, make it your passion, the rule for your life; and just as easy as pie, you can find yourself counting and measuring your worth, as if it is all that matters. Even happens to the best, most dedicated men of God, so don't let it ruin the view you might have of your own salvation!
Here is a little clue about what makes this count, no pun intended. You can try try try as hard as you might, but you are never going to make yourself love God more; only God can change the human heart! An apple tree does not need to try to make apples, they grow apples naturally because it is a apple tree! If we want to really love God more, then we need to get lost in His love! Rich or poor, healthy of sick, young or old; none of that really matters in the love of God, because His love is endless, His love is stronger, and His love cannot be measured...
"Now, dear brother and sisters - you who are familiar with the law - don't you know that the law applies only while a person is living? For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries. So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God." (Romans 7:1-4) NLT
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