A lesson about love
July 16, 2009 (Thursday)
Yesterday’s blog was about little Miss Buttons, Teresa’s cat. Today I am writing about her dog, Jim. Jim is mostly Lab, I think, and is Teresa’s constant companion. There is only one word that adequately describes Jim’s attitude toward Teresa: worship. She is his Lord and Master, because he has committed himself to that relationship.
She calls him, and he comes immediately, stopping at her feet, sitting and gazing devotedly at her face. It is as if he is saying, “I love you, Master, and I live to be with you.” If that’s not worship, I don’t know what worship is.
Many Christians have that relationship with the Lord. Many Christians, however, are not familiar with it. The attitude I’m talking about is the one that says, “To me to live is Christ!” These were Paul’s words and they described how he felt toward Jesus.
Worshiping the Lord is not confined to a stated time on a certain day in a designated place. It extends to every hour of every day in every place. It is the condition of our heart at any given moment.
A person living with the attitude of worship toward God is always ready to give a reason for the hope that is within him/her, and can truthfully say, “Wherever he leads, I’ll go.” Such a person knows that God takes all things and works them together to accomplish his plan for each of us, because the one who loves God like this is being conformed to the image of God’s own son. He/she is becoming more like Jesus, because he/she is constantly learning to know God better.
When I see Jim looking at Teresa with such devotion, I ask myself, “Do I love the Lord like that? Is he truly everything to me?”