I was gone away for a few days and my oldest daughter was spending the week at her grandparents several hours away, an arrangement which left my wife at home alone with our youngest daughter, who was only four years old at the time. This episode of mother-daughter bonding was to be a week of one-on-one activity; planting flowers, reading books, snuggling in bed, sleeping late. This was the condition of her agreement to spend the week at home rather than accompanying her sister.
There were lots of other things to be done that week. Laundry, dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing, bed-making…the usual gamut of chores every housewife is so familiar with.
During these activities, she would follow her mother around the house, “helping” with the work. Every so often she would leave what she was doing and make her way to wherever her mother was and present her with a big hug, saying “Mommy, I love you.” Each time, my wife would respond, “I love you, too, baby.”
Day after day this pattern persisted. Finally, on the day prior to my return and with pressure on to get some chores tied up before the onset of winter, they began to work in the flowerbeds at the church and parsonage. Loading up the wagon with the necessary tools, they began to make the circuit of flower gardens. They hadn’t been at it long when, sure enough, here she comes again.
“Mommy, I love you.”
“I love you too, baby.”
Hopefully, my wife thought, this will be followed by a relatively long period of peace and quiet. But this child has an overwhelming habit of attempting to carry on adult-level conversation… CONSTANTLY! And before a half hour was passed, here she came again.
“Mommy, I love you.”
With a rain shower threatening and her patience beginning to wane, a new tone was introduced.
There were lots of other things to be done that week. Laundry, dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing, bed-making…the usual gamut of chores every housewife is so familiar with.
During these activities, she would follow her mother around the house, “helping” with the work. Every so often she would leave what she was doing and make her way to wherever her mother was and present her with a big hug, saying “Mommy, I love you.” Each time, my wife would respond, “I love you, too, baby.”
Day after day this pattern persisted. Finally, on the day prior to my return and with pressure on to get some chores tied up before the onset of winter, they began to work in the flowerbeds at the church and parsonage. Loading up the wagon with the necessary tools, they began to make the circuit of flower gardens. They hadn’t been at it long when, sure enough, here she comes again.
“Mommy, I love you.”
“I love you too, baby.”
Hopefully, my wife thought, this will be followed by a relatively long period of peace and quiet. But this child has an overwhelming habit of attempting to carry on adult-level conversation… CONSTANTLY! And before a half hour was passed, here she came again.
“Mommy, I love you.”
With a rain shower threatening and her patience beginning to wane, a new tone was introduced.
“Yes, baby, I love you too!”
Somehow, this little girl picked up a ‘if I change my mind I’ll let you know’ feeling from her mother. She stopped, put her hand on her hip and cocked her head before answering, “Well… you sure don’t sound very happy about it!”
As often as I think about this story, I am confronted with a sad truth about my relationship with God. There are many ways He demonstrates how much He loves me, yet my response tends to be one that says, “Yeah, yeah… I love you too.”
I love Him. I just sometimes don’t sound or act very happy about it.
Now, before you point fingers and say you’ve never felt that way, think carefully about how our actions (or lack thereof) convey our satisfaction with His love. Consider how long it’s been since you made yourself at home in a church service. Remember how many Sunday mornings have gone by when it was ‘necessary’ to sleep in and catch up from the busy week you just had.
Being a pastor, sleeping in on Sunday isn’t really an option. However, my prayer, study and devotion time can quickly fall victim to an overcrowded schedule and a self-serving agenda.
It’s important that I demonstrate my devotion and gratitude to God in tangible ways. It’s a certainty that He is unseen, and this being the case, He is mistakenly assumed by many to be unseeing as well. He made it clear when speaking to the woman at the well in John 4:24, that although “God is a Spirit” a tangible response is still required. He said, “…they that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” This act of worship is the tangible expression of your love for God, seen not only by Him, but by those who share your pew in the church of your choosing.
So the next time you take a breath, remember, that’s one of the obvious ways He says, “I love you!” And make sure that you give an appropriate response. The Psalmist David says, “Happy is that people, whose God is the Lord!” He is my Father and I am happy about it!
Somehow, this little girl picked up a ‘if I change my mind I’ll let you know’ feeling from her mother. She stopped, put her hand on her hip and cocked her head before answering, “Well… you sure don’t sound very happy about it!”
As often as I think about this story, I am confronted with a sad truth about my relationship with God. There are many ways He demonstrates how much He loves me, yet my response tends to be one that says, “Yeah, yeah… I love you too.”
I love Him. I just sometimes don’t sound or act very happy about it.
Now, before you point fingers and say you’ve never felt that way, think carefully about how our actions (or lack thereof) convey our satisfaction with His love. Consider how long it’s been since you made yourself at home in a church service. Remember how many Sunday mornings have gone by when it was ‘necessary’ to sleep in and catch up from the busy week you just had.
Being a pastor, sleeping in on Sunday isn’t really an option. However, my prayer, study and devotion time can quickly fall victim to an overcrowded schedule and a self-serving agenda.
It’s important that I demonstrate my devotion and gratitude to God in tangible ways. It’s a certainty that He is unseen, and this being the case, He is mistakenly assumed by many to be unseeing as well. He made it clear when speaking to the woman at the well in John 4:24, that although “God is a Spirit” a tangible response is still required. He said, “…they that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” This act of worship is the tangible expression of your love for God, seen not only by Him, but by those who share your pew in the church of your choosing.
So the next time you take a breath, remember, that’s one of the obvious ways He says, “I love you!” And make sure that you give an appropriate response. The Psalmist David says, “Happy is that people, whose God is the Lord!” He is my Father and I am happy about it!
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