I was blessed with a much needed day off today.  I got to go to the mall with my wife, my daughter and my two granddaughters.  The last couple of times to the mall, the girls and I have been taking “selfies” in the backseat.  I could barely take one of our youngest granddaughter Haley because in the car she was holding on to my arm so tightly.  On the way home today before she fell asleep in her car seat she leaned over and gave me a big ole cookie crumb kiss.  It was like that all day but it hasn’t always been like that.  She has always been a little more quiet and reserved than her older sister Avery.  There was even a time a year or so ago, when she tended to shy away from me a little bit during some of their frequent visits.  But lately she has really been hugging on me, climbing on me, talking to me and talking about me.  And yes, I love it.  I love the way she and her sister express their love for their pawpaw.

Our visit together got me to thinking about the ways that we express our love to the Lord.  I suspect that if I ask most people how we show our love to the Lord the common answers I would hear would be “Go to church, pray, and worship.”  Those are certainly excellent ways to show our love and devotion.  But I wonder if we would forget to reference one way of showing our love that Jesus specifically mentioned to His disciples.  In John chapter 14, Jesus said it twice, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”   Keeping His commandments means knowing His will and doing His will.  It means knowing what He said and putting it into practice in our lives.  It is embracing Him and holding on to Him at all moments in our lives.  Showing our love for Him is simple but not easy.  In that same chapter, Jesus promises the Father will send the Holy Spirit to be our Teacher, our Helper and our Comforter so that we can obey His words and thereby demonstrate our love for Him and be His witnesses to a lost and dying world.

I have always known that my granddaughter Haley, my sweet Haley has loved me…even in those times when she has shied away from me.  I have not doubted it.  But I have enjoyed, experienced and been blessed by her love even more so when she has embraced me and given me cookie crumb kisses.  When we obey the words of Christ, I know that He enjoys, experiences and is blessed by our love even more than those times we have not.  Until next time, stay strong in the faith.