Baby Kisses

Today I am thinking about  kisses.  Okay, I know kisses are not books or blogs, but what can be more pure and lovely than the kiss of a baby?  You see, my baby has learned to give kisses recently.  You know the kind: mouth open, tongue out, slobbery.  I love them.  She is showing me her love in the best way she knows how.  It isn't perfect, but it is sincere.  I know that as she gets older, her kisses will be less messy.  I mean, if my son kissed me with his tongue, I would correct him. He knows better.  He and I both know what he is capable of.  And he gives the best kisses!  They are so enthusiastic without being sloppy. I dread the day my sweet boy will be embarrassed to kiss his Mommy.  

As I receive another pair of kisses, one messy but sincere, one exuberant, I think about how we show love to our Heavenly Father.  He has told us the way to show our love to Him.  "If you love me, keep my commands" (John 14:15).  As baby Christians, our efforts may be a little messy.  We haven't had long to study God's word to know how best to obey it. But He does expect us to try.  Just as it hurts my feelings a little when Baby Girl turns her face away from mine, it makes God sad when we don't attempt to obey him. If our efforts are sincere, God is pleased with us.  He doesn't expect us to be perfect in loving Him.  His grace is sufficient to cover our mistakes.

As we grow older in our faith, God expects more out of us.  The Hebrew writer made this perfectly clear when he said, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil" (Hebrews 5:12-14).  Here we see a maturing process.  As babes, we need milk.  We study the "elementary teachings about Christ" (Hebrews 6:1).  We can't always tell the difference between good and evil.  As we grow, we move on to more difficult teachings and teach others to be discerning.  Just as my children grow better and better in giving kisses, we grow more competent at following God's Word and are able to teach others.

How are you loving God?  Are you still a babe, enthusiastically reading your Bible and learning discernment?  Are you mature, teaching others and bringing them to Christ?  Or are you like the audience of Hebrews? Are you still giving slobbery kisses when you should have learned a better way?

Melissa

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), Copyright(c) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.