By Steve Higginbotham
Every parent has moments that are etched in their memory which will never be forgotten. One of those moments occurred to me several years ago with Anne Marie, our youngest daughter. When she was only four years old, I came home from work one day and received my usual greeting from her. As I opened the door, I could hear her in the other room scream, “Daddy’s home!” Next thing I knew, she rounded the corner, jumped into my arms and gave me a big hug.
After we hugged each other, I put her down and sat down in my recliner while she went back into the kitchen. However, to my surprise, Anne Marie ran back into the room, jumped in my lap, and hugged me again, tightly around my neck. I said to her, “Well now, what’s that all about?” Her memorable reply was, “Daddy, I love you so much I just can’t stop hugging you.”
Now you may think that’s silly, but I assure you, if it was your child hugging your neck, you’d comprehend the significance. That’s the reward of parenting. It’s moments like these that make all the sacrifices worthwhile.
Through the years as I recall her statement, I have found in it an analogy regarding our relationship with God. If only we could possess the same depth of love toward our heavenly Father Anne Marie had toward her earthly father. Rather than seeking loopholes or looking for excuses not to serve Him, what if we loved Him so much we just “couldn’t stop serving Him”? What a difference that would make in our lives, and how pleasing that would be to God.
Friends, take inventory. Why do you serve God? Do you serve Him out of a sense of obligation, or do you serve Him because you are so deeply in love with Him you can’t do otherwise?
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37).