The Protestant Anchorite

It's about devotion.  I'm talking about the kind of devotion that we naturally, without any kind of compulsion, give to our Lover.  Even though I am 66 years old, I easily remember the last time I was in love with a woman.  I thought about her constantly.  It was hard to do anything else.  I wanted only to be with her.  The intensity of my feelings could easily be compared to fire.  Once we were married, I often felt that I wanted to join with her so completely that we would become one.  But all of this is meant to point us to our relationship with Christ.  The First and Great Commandment to love the LORD with all our heart, might, mind, strength and soul has never been primarily a legal requirement that we should fear because we can't do it perfectly.  This is how God loves us, and our own souls cry out for this kind of relationship with our Maker.  This is why he created us.  We were made not only to know Him and fear him, but also to love Him with a devotion that resembles a consuming fire.