Let’s Play Fetch

When I was in my 20’s I had a cat named Spunky. Spunky loved to play, in-fact, I was able to teach her how to fetch. Yes, you can teach a cat to fetch, it just takes a little more time and patience than with a dog. I would throw out the little cat ball to Spunky and she would bring it back to me again and again, she loved to play. 

When thinking about Spunky fetching I thought about how our spiritual lives are much like playing fetch with God. He throws out his love to us, we catch it and bring it back to him. But just how important is it to show God our love and return it to him? It is very important!

God gave us free-will and sometimes we stray from showing God our love and devotion. While deciding whether or not we’ll show God our love, we sometimes hold onto that ball when he throws it out to us. Sometimes for many years we don’t throw our love back to him. 

If we don’t return our love to God we may find ourselves straying from him. Daily activities can distract us pulling our attention away. This is why we need to show him our love and devotion on a daily basis.

In the parable of the lost sheep found in Matthew 18:10-14, the shepherd had 100 sheep and one is lost. The shepherd leaves the 99 and goes after the lost sheep. He loves the sheep that do not stray but shows great love for the lost sheep. It is the same for us when we are lost to God’s love; he will keep after us until we return to him. 

There are several ways in which we can return God’s love. 

We can spend time with him in prayer. Talking to God is a great way to extend your love to him. Praying Bible verses can help with this. One of my favorites is “from everlasting to everlasting, you are my God”  Psalm 90:2 It’s short and easy to remember and gets straight to the point. I’m telling God that from the beginning, without end, I love him and return my love. 

We can read the Bible. Don’t let it just sit on the shelf and get dusty, open it up. You may find that you don’t have a lot of time to spend doing this but try just reading a couple of pages before bed. It doen’t matter how long you read, the important thing is that you are reading scripture, returning God’s love to him. 

Repenting is also a good way to return God’s love. This shows that we have turned away from sin and extend ourselves to him. 

You can also reach out to others in Christian love. Show your neighbors, family, friends and those in need how you mirror God’s actions. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” 

Attend worship. Just being in the same room with other Christians can be addictive. Befriending a fellow Christian is another way to experience God’s love and return it to him. 

If we follow these simple steps we can enrich our lives in not only receiving God’s love but returning it to him. It will also help us to become stronger in our Christian faith and commit our lives to him. 

Dear God, help us to become closer to you by returning some of the love that you show to us. Let us be one with you. Amen



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