"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God..."
1 John 4:7 (NIV)A father, absorbed in his monthly bills, was interrupted by his young son bursting in to announce a birthday gift of fifty-five kisses, one for each year of his father's life. When the boy began delivering on his promise, the father, distracted and busy, asked him to wait. The boy's eyes filled with tears, and he quietly walked away, his joyful gesture turned into quiet rejection. That evening the father invited him to finish, but the moment had passed and the boy did not respond. Shortly afterward, the boy drowned, and the father was left with a grief no apology could reach, only the aching regret of a love offered and unintentionally refused.
Love, as John reminds us, comes from God, and it is inherently relational, a two-way exchange that requires both giving and receiving. When love offered is dismissed, even unintentionally, it can be experienced as rejection, leaving wounds that outlast the moment itself. Busyness is never truly an excuse strong enough to justify turning away from those who reach out to us with love, especially the people nearest and dearest to our hearts. As we serve others with the gifts God has given us, we must remember that receiving love graciously is itself a form of service, honoring the giver and strengthening the bond between us. Nothing costs us more in the end than failing to love, or failing to receive love, while we still have the chance.
Lord, teach me to receive love as graciously as I try to give it. Forgive me for the times busyness has caused me to overlook someone reaching out with love. Help me to treasure every moment of connection with those You have placed in my life, before the opportunity is gone. Amen.