I have been ‘house sitting” for some friends and fellow missionaries that are in Africa right now. They have a cat that thinks he’s a dog. Buddy follows you around the house and he loves to cuddle and play. He doensn’t understand or care that I am HIGHLY allergic to cats so I have to avoid touching him. We have come up with a little game where I rub his belly with my foot as he is lying on the floor. That’s about all I can do.
The past few weeks he has been sitting outside of my door at night and cries. When I come out in the morning, he is anxiously waiting right outside the door. When I come out of the shower he is at the door crying. When I come home he is excited to see me and immediately wants to play. The other night I fell asleep on the couch and woke up to him walking back and forth beside my hand (hanging off the couch) This made me think, he just wants to be held and loved. This is what we all want. My mind went a step further.
The Lord wants us to love Him. He pursues us daily and yearns to spend time with us. It doesn’t matter how often we “leave” and walk away. He is always there waiting with open arms. When we close the door on Him, He sits on the other side and patiently waits for us to open back up and let Him in.
Do we treat the Lord like we treat our pets? Do we spend a few minutes with Him and then move on to other things? Do we keep Him at arms length and “rub His belly” with our foot every now and then? Basically saying, I love you but I can only let you in so far… Do we snuggle up to Him when we are having a bad day, only to let Him go after we have had a good cry?
Just like our pets, our children, and our friends, the Lord wants to be a part of our lives. He wants to go where we go, live where we live, and love on us day and night.
Are you allowing Him to be all that He wants to be in your life? Does He really have all of your heart or just a tiny piece every now and then?
“‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” Luke 10:27
