OF HOLY AFFECTIONS
“O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.” II Corinthians 6:11-13 NKJV
Paul’s words point to a truth that is relevant even today, and can be misconstrued.
More often than not, it is not that God’s grace is limited, but that our hearts are too crowded with lesser loves to receive His fully. God calls us into a relationship where our affections are aligned with His. But openness requires trust and willingness to let Him touch the tender places we protect. Many believers live restricted not because God withholds, but because they fear the cost of surrender, yet love cannot flow through guarded walls.
Child of God this not a reprimand meant to shame you, but a divine invitation to let God enlarge our hearts, to free us from the smallness of self-protection, and to love as we have been loved. When the heart opens wide to God, it naturally opens to others. His grace expands what shame once confined.
Prayer: My Father, I thank you that I am freed from the narrowness of self and the fear that keeps hearts closed. I am persuaded of the legitimacy of your truth and by reason of this my affections are centered on You and toward others. I am taught of your spirit to love with the same openness You have shown me in Christ, to the glory of your name. Amen.
CI.
RELATED RESOURCES
• Romans 5:5
• 1 John 4:18-19
• 2 Corinthians 7:2
