Showing Love
“Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and the one who loves is born of God and fully experiences God.”
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As a parent, you know what your children love. When our son Brian was a boy, he loved to read. He loved to write in journals. He loved to ride his bike in the mountains. Nathan loved Legos. He loved to build - anything. He loved to play football and baseball.
As a Nana, I know some things that our grandchildren love. Hawken loves to fish. He loves to study and read about birds. And he loves Legos like his dad. Lynn Lee loves accessories - necklaces, bracelets. She loves to put on “lipstick” (flavored Chapstick) and perfume. She loves to swing and play on the playground. Emmy loves horses and animals of all sorts. She loves popsicles and grapes. She loves to swing too. Our newest little granddaughter, Blake loves to be outside. She loves her evening stroller rides.
Think of anyone you love, and you can name some things that they love. What a joy it is to give someone you love something that you know that they love. I love to buy my husband, our children, their spouses and our grandchildren things that they enjoy. And of course, I always enjoy spending time with each of them because I love them so, so much.
Lately I have been thinking about how God loves to give us things we love and how I imagine that he loves spending time with us. He loves to bless us. Think about a beautiful sunrise, a beautiful sunset. Think about a beautiful Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer Day. Think about a special conversation with someone you love. Think about watching your grandchildren play. Think about a quiet moment of stillness amid a busy day. I could go on and on. We have so many blessings moment by moment.
But the most wonderful gift that God gave us because he loves us is Jesus Christ, his only son. Thank you, God, for sending your only son to show us how to live and love. We need that example desperately in our world today. We need your presence and love. We need you to show us how to love ourselves and others. We need your peace and love in our lives so that we can show others your peace and love.
Sometimes I think about how we must break God’s heart because we don’t love each other. We want our children and grandchildren to love each other and in the same way, I think God wants his children to love each other. I imagine that God loves to see his children reach out to each other in ways that demonstrate Jesus’ love in a hurting world: listen a little longer, hug a little longer and tighter (those you can hug now), and give a little more to someone in need. I imagine God smiles when we do this. And I like to imagine that these are some of the things that God loves.
Dear God, thank you for showing us how to love. Help us show your love in all we do.
Amen.
- Cindy D. Green