One very powerful way to make God feel more loved
My family is in the United States right now visiting family and friends. One thing I've noticed is that my daughter, Anna, is freely giving hugs to people. She's not usually a hugger. In fact, she told my wife and I that she only gives hugs on Mondays and Fridays. (So Monday comes up more than once every week in our house! ^-^)
I don't know why she's not a big hugger. I think it's a joke and maybe a control issue for her. I did notice something interesting though about two months back.
I was in Los Angeles for about 10 days in May. And although I skyped with Laura and the kids everyday while I was there, when I returned, my little anti-hugging daughter came running up the driveway and wouldn't let go of me for the next two days. She was all about the hugs.
I was thinking about this the other day and realized this is exactly how we treat God. Many of us take God's presence in our lives for granted. We want to assert our independence. So we tell him, I'm gonna hug you on Sundays and maybe Wednesday nights.
Then something comes up, we miss a month or two. We show up at church or Bible study or we just immerse ourselves in prayer, and we are just refreshed being in God's presence and in the presence of other believers. We commit to never letting go. But then overtime, we find ourselves taking God for granted again. Hugs are for Sundays.
In extreme cases, we drift further. Hugs become for Christmas and Easter only. And when those days show up, we love it. We feel the warmth. But a few weeks later, we are back to a "no hugs" for God policy.
What's cute in a 4 year old asserting her independence is not cute in adults seeking to find their way in the world. One way you can make God feel more loved is by committing to daily hugs. Daily doses of prayer and Bible study.
I don't know why she's not a big hugger. I think it's a joke and maybe a control issue for her. I did notice something interesting though about two months back.
I was in Los Angeles for about 10 days in May. And although I skyped with Laura and the kids everyday while I was there, when I returned, my little anti-hugging daughter came running up the driveway and wouldn't let go of me for the next two days. She was all about the hugs.
I was thinking about this the other day and realized this is exactly how we treat God. Many of us take God's presence in our lives for granted. We want to assert our independence. So we tell him, I'm gonna hug you on Sundays and maybe Wednesday nights.
Then something comes up, we miss a month or two. We show up at church or Bible study or we just immerse ourselves in prayer, and we are just refreshed being in God's presence and in the presence of other believers. We commit to never letting go. But then overtime, we find ourselves taking God for granted again. Hugs are for Sundays.
In extreme cases, we drift further. Hugs become for Christmas and Easter only. And when those days show up, we love it. We feel the warmth. But a few weeks later, we are back to a "no hugs" for God policy.
What's cute in a 4 year old asserting her independence is not cute in adults seeking to find their way in the world. One way you can make God feel more loved is by committing to daily hugs. Daily doses of prayer and Bible study.
