Ephesians 5:2
Be full of love for others, following
the example of Christ who loved you and gave himself to God as a
sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, for Christ’s love
for you was like sweet perfume to him.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
This
morning, Nathan brushed the crumbs from his lunch onto the kitchen
floor. I fussed at him and told him…”This does not make me happy. When
you finish eating, we’re going to pick all of that up and put it into
your napkin to throw away.” I looked into his little face, and I saw a
look of devastation. His eyes welled with tears, and his lip swelled and
protruded. I know that this can sometimes be a manipulative ploy by
children to get out of a troubling situation. But this little guy was
genuinely crushed to think that I was not happy with him.
I
hugged Nathan and told him, “It will be okay…we’ll pick up together…but
you cannot ever throw your food on the floor again. That is not nice,
and it does not make me happy.” Nathan softened a bit, but then he
looked at me and said, “You cannot ever act like that again!” I had to
turn away so that he would not see how hard I was trying to stifle a
laugh! At the end of the day, we do love these little ones…even in the
“teachable moments.”
When Nathan finished eating, we cleaned up
the floor together. And I gently reminded him that this was never to
happen again, although I am sure we will have to repeat this lesson a
few more times. And this is exactly how it is with Jesus. He has to
tell us repeatedly how to live…remind us not to sin…and help us clean up
the mess we make of our lives. Jesus is probably disappointed with
many of us – myself among them – on an hourly basis. But still, He
loves us so much that He was willing to be beaten, tortured, and
crucified so that we would not have to carry the burden of our sins any
longer.
As much as I love Timothy, Zola and Nathan - and many
other “children” of all ages - my love does not even begin to come close
to that of Jesus. He loves us in ways that we will never be able to
comprehend. BUT…God wants us to TRY to love like Jesus - to see others
as His creatures…just as precious in His eyes as we are. God wants us
to share the Good News of Christ with all others…to be accepting and
encompassing – forgiving and compassionate.
It’s hard to
emulate Jesus when someone is getting on your last nerve – or even
saying/doing something to cause you actual harm. But all we have to do
is look at His example…and we know that this is what we are called to
do. So who will you help pick up the crumbs today? How will you
demonstrate the love, grace, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus to others?
Are you ready to go “full in” as a disciple of Christ – and share His
teachings by putting them into actual practice? Isn’t it time you were?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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