My son loves me. I mean, Hudson REALLY loves me. I put a smile on his face, he finds comfort in my embrace, he protests (loudly) my physical removal from the room in which he resides. He follows me up stairs, between rooms, clings to my legs while I walk from the sink to the stove. His whole day is brighter when he lays eyes on me. And do you know what? I like it! My sister says it’s payback for all the nights of interrupted sleep and countless diapers. And, at fourteen months old, I know this level of expressing his love won’t last forever. But still, I like it.
And God—who “needs” to be loved much less than I need it, is still delighted when we delight in Him. He calls us to “draw near to” himself. Psalm 37:4 urges us to “delight yourself in the Lord.” Over and over in Scripture, there is the concept that God is glorified when we glory in Him. We are commanded to love Him. We are called to offer a “sacrifice of praise.” Ours is not an unconditional love; indeed, it cannot be. “We love Him because He first loved us.”
It’s so easy for Hudson to love me—he knows so little else at his tender age. (Would that we could be less distracted by the lesser joys outside of Christ!) Yet, if my baby’s joy makes me happy, wouldn’t I like to honor my Father-God by giving back the same kind of open love for Him that Hudson shows to me? “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name forever!”
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