Love Jesus!
When my oldest daughter was born, we bought our first video camera (which was larger than the baby). We loved recording all our baby girl’s “firsts”; first babbling, first steps, first bite of food, and so on. One day, my 93-year-old grandmother came to see us, and as she held our precious child, we began recording the two of them. At one point, I asked, “Grandma, what advice do you have?” Now my grandmother came to Oklahoma with her family from Texas in a covered wagon. She’d survived life on their Western Oklahoma farm during the depression and dustbowl. She’d outlived three of her four children, all four of her siblings, and her husband. But when I asked this woman who had all these experiences for advice, her answer was simple, “Love Jesus!” At the time, I remember thinking to myself, “Is that all you’ve got?” I sincerely hope the expression on my face concealed that. And yes, shame on me!!
As a grandmother myself and one who has thankfully matured a bit, I see the value of her words. My wise grandmother knew that Jesus’ love would be THE constant thing in life; relationships and circumstances change, we move, we get different jobs, people die, babies are born…things in this life change. Jesus and His love for us never changes. She also understood that when we love Jesus and grasp the depth of His love for us, we can’t help but love others!
I asked my grandmother for advice that day because I knew she loved and cared about us! Theodore Roosevelt is attributed with saying, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” When people know we genuinely care about them, they may seek our advice. Here’s a short list of what the Bible says about giving advice:
1. Only share truth (Prov. 12:26)
2. Pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
3. Listen (James 1:19)
4. Be empathetic (Romans 12:15)
5. Be bold (Acts 4:31)
With the example of my grandmother, I could add my own advice: when giving advice–be brief. “Love Jesus!” It’s short and sweet, but its truth is eternal, and it’s by far The Most Important Advice I’ve ever received.
Susan Meharg, Executive Assistant to Senior Pastor
