An excerpt from Christ Is All of The Valley of Vision:

Thou hast loved me everlastingly, unchangeably,
….may I love thee as I am loved;
Thou hast given thyself for me,
….may I give myself to thee;
Thou hast died for me,
….may I live to thee,
……..in every moment of my time,
……..in every movement of my mind,
……..in every pulse of my heart.

********

I had a bus trip this past Saturday. I drove one of two buses that took our band to a competition. Also, I changed routes this year. Since I began driving at the end of 2018, I have driven bus #25. To compact and make our schools routes as efficient as possible they moved some things around. #25’s high school/middle school route didn’t change very much but the elementary route changed totally. I figured the older kids wouldn’t care a whole lot, but I felt the need to keep the connection with the younger ones, so this year I am driving #18.

Anyway, back to the band trip. Several of the students from #25 are in the band and (supposedly) I drove the “quiet” bus. All but a couple of #25’s students got on my bus! The fun thing was, they were all happy to see me! And, every single one of them spoke to me getting on the bus before we left! (High school students for the most part don’t say a whole lot, getting on or off the bus.) It definitely brought a smile to my face.

I remember in my first full year of driving, I had a high school student who never responded to my, “Good morning!” That is until one day, I got what I think was a grunt – I was thrilled! He hadn’t said “boo” in all the months he’d been on my bus!

Affirmation…communication…it is all important! Karen gets the same thing as a teacher. Her classroom is in the hallway where most of the kids pass to get to and from the buses, she has several students that will stop to hug her. It gives you a little “I did something right! I obviously had an impact on that kid!” kind of feeling.

As a child of God, I pray that the way I live my life reflects my Heavenly Father’s love and compassion for me! He’s known me since before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and though I’ve known him for a relatively short time (comparatively!), I wholeheartedly believe that when I communicate with Him, when I affirm His love and compassion for me, it brings Him abundant joy!

I don’t think any of those band kids said what they said out of obligation. No one told them that they had to say anything when they saw me. It was a natural response. It was an action based on “love” (if I can use that term loosely. 😊)

God doesn’t demand that we love him. And though we should proclaim our love for Him, it definitely should not be out of obligation. Instead, it should be because there is a genuine, heartfelt love for Him and all He does for us! Regarding our love for Him, as His love for us, “loosely” should not apply!

All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear… We love each other because he loved us first. 1 John 4:15-18a, 19 NLT

Sept 19th, 2022, Mon, 12:42 pm