When your kids stay at a friend’s house and you go pick them up, there is something really good about hearing another parent say, “Your child was so well behaved.”
It’s simple, but it feels good because you know your child was away from home, representing your family in somebody else’s house, and they handled themselves well.
That got me thinking about the fact that I am a child of God, and right now I am not really home. My home is in heaven. I am living here for a while, walking through this world, and I have an opportunity to represent my Heavenly Father while I am away from home.
2 Corinthians 5:9 says, “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him.”
That verse gives me a simple way to think about my life. While I am here, my aim should be to please Him. Not to impress people, not to build a name for myself, and not to just get through the day focused only on what I need. I want to live in a way that reflects the heart of my Father.
One of the clearest ways Jesus told us to do that is by loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
That's where this gets personal for me. I don’t know that my neighbor would always accuse me of loving them well. I may be polite. I may wave. I may be friendly enough. But am I really loving the people God has placed near me with the kind of care and concern I naturally have for myself?
I want to ask God to change my heart’s focus so I'm not just thinking about my own schedule, my own comfort, and my own needs. I want Him to help me see the people around me and love them in a way that points back to Him.
Because one day I will be home with my Heavenly Father, and more than anything, I want to hear Him say, “Well done.”