Love
Me, More!
Jesus replied, "The most important
commandment is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and
only Lord. [30] And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.'” (Mark 12:29-30,
NLT)
Life changed with the adoption of
“Kitty”. Kitty is an over sized gray tabby cat with a one track mind.
Love me! Outside he is the king of his domain. Inside, we are his domain
and his one and only demand is to hold him, pet him, scratch his face,
be his nap time cradle, the taster of all our food, the center of our
attention...to love him. In return for all this devotion and love we
learn how to love “Kitty”. As months, and now years have gone by, he has
become part of our daily living routine within his domain. We no longer
object to loving Kitty; it is our habit, now.
Recently, Kitty has developed a new way
to say, “Love me!” After his morning love routine, he vocalizes what
seems to be a protest, Meow! If we ignore this new feline command, he
begins to nip our ankles until we respond to him in light of our
discomfort. It seems as if through inflicting pain upon our vulnerable
bare feet, he is saying, “Love me, more!” We now find ourselves in a new
dilemma, daily: Love Kitty more or suffer the discomfort of this
demanding pet. Of course we are forced to love Kitty, more!
My wife picks up Kitty in the mornings,
now, and says, “Look at 'Kitty Boots', he loves me.” He just got a new
name, “Kitty Boots!” God is telling us something about the nature of His
love though the example of His creation. He is saying, “Love Me, more!”
When we first come to know the love of
God, it is fresh and personal. As the months and then, years pass, our
love and devotion become routine, even forgotten for short periods of
time. Life seems to fill, again, of painful reminders that all is not
well with our soul. God is nipping at our vulnerabilities to remind us
that we still need to love Him – Love Him, more!” For the Lord
disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his
children. (Hebrews 12:6, NLT)
When we finally do respond with a renewed
and personal love to His painful nips in our life, He reveals to us His
new name, “God is Love”
Dear friends, let us continue to love one
another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and
knows God. [8] But anyone who does not love does not know God—for God is
love. (1 John 4:7-8, NLT)
Life getting painful, again?...Love God,
more!
