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One
thing most parents fear with their children is that they will do something to
hurt themselves. In order to forestall that happening when they are you
we have a rule. The young ones must hold our hands or at least stay
close to us when crossing the street. This can seem humiliating for a grown
up child of six years!
Ben made the mistake recently of
bolting from the car to the store without us. Since it was across the line
of traffic his mother and I were a bit upset. His punishment was to hold
my hand in the store. When my hands were busy I made him hold on to my belt
loop. I didn't do this to him because I wanted to be mean or humiliate him.
I did it because I wanted him to remember to follow the rules next time so he
wouldn't get hurt.
Jesus wants us to stick close to Him
for much the same reasons. We are obviously safer walking with Jesus, but
we also must stay close in order to have a fruitful and healthy relationship with
Christ. Notice what Jesus said: "I am the Vine and you are
the branches; he who abides (remains) in me and I in him, he bears much fruit,
for apart from me you can do nothing." (John
15:5) Jesus wants us to stick close for
our own good and so that we can do what we were created to do: bear fruit for
the Father.
What are you doing to cultivate a close and
intimate relationship with the Savior of your soul?
Like
any relationship, this one takes effort.
All Scripture references are from the New American
Standard Version unless otherwise noted.
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Stick Close
