Why Some Children Love God

I met a lovely Christian named Ruth who told me, “People say to my parents, ‘It’s so wonderful that all of your three children love the Lord. How did you do it?’

“My parents reply, ‘Oh, we prayed and trusted the Lord,’ but other parents pray. The reason I am a Christian is that my parents lived the Word. Not only did they teach the Word, but it was who they were all the time. They are the best Christians I know.”

Jeremiah would have described Ruth’s parents as having “singleness of heart and action.” He declared that it would be “for their own good and the good of their children after them” (Jeremiah 32:39). Ruth’s parents’ sincere desire to please the Lord was rewarded with the fulfillment of Caleb’s promise: “The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly” (Joshua 14:9).

Passionate love for God is shown through wholehearted obedience because we desire His pleasure above all else. “I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face,” wrote Elizabeth Clephane in Beneath the Cross of Jesus. She was saying, “Lord, if I have Your approval I have everything I need to be happy.”

Jesus invites us to make Him our source of deepest pleasure. The depth of our desire to find our joy in Him will affect not only us but also those we love.

Thank You, Jesus, for the ultimate pleasure of Your smile.

“I will go to the altar of God—to God—the source of all my joy” (Psalm 43:4 NLT).