SEPTEMBER 3, John 14:15

“Goodbye! Have a great time! Take lots of pictures!” Everyone was waving to Leanne and Leonard as they left their wedding reception to go on their honeymoon. Joanna noticed Leanne’s little sister Bella sitting by herself and looking unhappy. “What’s the matter?” Joanna asked the little girl. Bella sniffed. “I don’t want Leanne to go,” she whispered. “I’ll miss her.”

“But she’ll be back soon!” Joanna assured Bella as she tried to comfort the little girl.

On the way home, Joanna told her family about Bella’s reaction to Leanne’s leaving. Mom smiled. “Bella doesn’t understand that Leanne’s place is with Leonard now,” she said. “But imagine how hard it would have been for Leanne to convince Leonard that she loved him if she suddenly decided to cancel her leave and go back to work rather than spend time with him on their honeymoon. When you love someone, you will like to be with him and talk to him.”

“And talk about him, I guess,” added Joanna. “Leanne was always talking about Leonard.” “Everybody could see that she loves him, and he loves her,” added Joanna’s sister Dinah. Dad nodded. “So love is seen in actions and speech, right?” Dad asked as he turned into MacDonald’s. “Okay. This evening, let’s see how many ways we can show our love for each other.”

“Let’s also be sure to show that we love Jesus,” added Mom.
“Yes,” agreed Dad. “He loves us so much that He willingly died for us. But do you think He believes us when we say we love Him but don’t want to spend time with Him or talk about Him or to Him?”

“You mean... like if we say we love Jesus but don’t like to go to church or read the Bible or pray, we’re not acting like we love Him very much?” asked Joanna.

“Or if we don’t want to talk about Him to other people?” suggested Dinah. “It seems that way to me,” Dad said. “After all, real love is more than words. It’s wanting to be with and please the person you love.”

“Yes,” agreed Mom, “and the thing that pleases Jesus most is obedience to Him. The way to show that we truly love Him is to obey Him-to do what He says.”

Thought: Do you really love Jesus, or do you just say you do?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this reminder that my actions must show that I love You. Help me to obey Your commandments always. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.