Mother, Show Me Jesus Loves Me

I

t had been a very taxing, grueling day; the kind of day you wish you could toss into the wastebasket and forget it ever was!  Diane had taken the day off from work in order to prepare for a dinner party she was throwing for several members of her husband’s office staff.  He had recently been promoted and she wanted to do something special for him to show him how much she loved and appreciated him.

Selecting the day and the time for the party as well as the menu had been easy.  Diane never had difficulty putting a social event together and everyone always ranted and raved over the wonderful job she always did.  She knew that the right people, the right food, the right conversation, and the right atmosphere always led to a perfect party, especially when so much thought and preparation went into event.

But today had been anything but smooth and it looked as if the party were going to be a disaster.  The guests were due to arrive in five hours and everything was in complete turmoil.  The beds hadn’t been made, the sink was piled high with dishes, one of her cakes had fallen, the dishwasher failed to start, and the phone had been ringing every five minutes.  In addition, Jessica, Diane’s three-year-old daughter, had decided this was the day ask questions one after the other in rapid-fire succession.  Every five minutes, Jessica would run into the kitchen with a question about a book, a magazine, or whatever show was on television.  Diane felt like running away to hide but she tried her best to answer all of Jessica’s questions as best she could.

After several hours of interrogation, however, Diane was just about at her wits’ end.  She felt sure she would completely lose her composure if her daughter asked her just one more question.   She glanced at the clock just to see how much longer it would be before her guests started arriving.  It was 2:00 o’clock and the party was due to begin at 7:00 o’clock sharp.  The second cake had been redone and, although the kitchen was a wreck, she would be able to clean it and get Jessica and herself ready for the party. 

Everything was looking up and then she looked down and saw Jessica standing at the edge of the counter with a big book in her hand.  Her mouth was already forming the ump-teen-thousandth question of the day.  Before Diane could stop her, Jessica blurted out, “Mother, show me Jesus loves me in the Bible!”  Diane wasn’t sure what her daughter was asking.  Her inaction prompted Jessica to ask the question again, only louder, “Mother, show me Jesus loves me in the Bible!”  Jessica had learned “Jesus Loves Me” in Sunday school.  Since the last line of the song runs “for the Bible tells me so,” Jessica wanted her mother to show her where in the Bible it said that.

Diane looked around the kitchen, she glanced at the clock, and then she looked at Jessica.  The power of that question hit her full force.  Of all the questions Jessica had asked that day, this one had to be answered.  So Diane took Jessica into the living room, sat down on the sofa, opened the Bible, and told her the story about Jesus and the little children.  She told Jessica how Jesus always showed people he loved them by healing them, by listening to them, by talking to them, and by giving himself for them.  It was at that moment that Jessica jumped into her mother’s lap and gave her a huge hug.  “Thank you mommy for showing me how much you love me. By talking to me and by making things for daddy’s party, you are acting just like Jesus!”

This story should sound very familiar to all of us who claim the name of Christ.  Like Jessica, we are filled with questions and concerns.  It seems all we do sometimes is fire questions at God, one after the other.  He never gets in a hurry, He never gets frustrated, and He never ignores us.  He answers our questions and listens to our prayers, even when we ask Him the same thing over and over again.

In John 14:8-10, we find Phillip, one of Jesus’ disciples asking Jessica’s question. “Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?”

Phillip had heard about God all his life but he wanted Jesus to show him the Father.  We’ve all been there, haven’t we?  We want to open the pages of scripture and see God’s picture.  We want to know why He works the way He does, why He takes so long to answer our questions, and why He answers our prayers in ways we never dreamed of.  Phillip wanted to see God and Jesus told him, here He is.  When you see me Phillip, you see Him.  When I speak, you hear His voice, when I touch people, it is with His hands, and when I love them, it is with His heart.

If we would see the face of God, we need only to look at the life of Jesus Christ.  One look at him and God’s face comes into view.  When we want to see God, Jesus bids us come.  He sits down with us, talks with us, opens his arms and he shows God to us.  Not a bad way to have a question answered, is it?