James 4:8 – Come near to God, and he will come near to you. (NIV)

Out of the mouths of babes! At the park, while watching Bubble Man move his apparatus so that the wind would blow hundreds of iridescent bubbles at a time, my great-granddaughter patted the grass, and said, "Come sit by me, Grammy." She and all young children love for us to be near them, to enjoy their activities, and to learn of them. When we spend quality time with them, we form wonderful relationships.

Scripture teaches us to draw near to God, and He will draw near to us. In the Bible, Mary sat at Jesus' feet to learn from Him. Then, she poured a very expensive perfume over His feet. In Jesus' day, the people loved His teaching; they loved who and how He was with them. He also wants us to sit with Him, to talk with Him, and to walk through our day with Him. Every moment is important. The more that we learn about Jesus, the closer that we get to Him. The most caring friendship that we can have is in relationship with Jesus. In essence, He says, "Come sit by Me."

I love the quiet times with Jesus. When I listen to His prompting, His wisdom guides me to opportunities to form friendships and family relationships within His will. We practice here on earth by showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in our activities with one another. Sometimes, it isn't easy, but when we draw near to Christ and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit, we can do these things. In order to please God the Father with these behaviours, we must draw on the power of the risen Christ.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for calling to say, "Come sit by Me." We pray that we will sit closely so that we can praise You, learn from You, and be comforted by You. Amen.

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About the author:

Karen Milam <karenbmilam@gmail.com>
Penn Valley, California, USA
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