Every morning we have to do “Zekie lovin’”. Zeke the Cat jumps up on the arm of the recliner and paws; I pet and massage him. His favorite place to be petted is right at the base of his tail. Sometimes our morning lovin’ routine lasts only a few minutes; other mornings I’m lucky to get off to work on time.
As I pet and massage him, Zeke’s purrs get louder and louder, filling the room. I continue to stroke my “good boy kittie” until he turns and looks at me with his big green eyes that are full of love and admiration. My heart is full of love back to him. During our routine, nothing else is important except this special bond we share.
We all look for “Zekie lovin’” in our lives – a love and bond greater in itself than the sum of the two parts. A love that transcends and transforms us. A love that only God can provide us.
God not only created us but breathed life into us (Genesis 2:7). That breath of God is a part of us that never goes away. But because of our sinful nature, we are unable to reconnect to that breath without faith in Jesus Christ who died to redeem us from our sin. In Romans 3:23-24 we are told that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”. It is this justification, the process of being made righteous, which allows us to reconnect to the breath of God within us. We become whole, one with the God who loves us. As the result, we desire to bond with God, a bond that is established through worship.
My bond with Zeke is simple. He sits in the chair; I pet. Our bond with God, our worship, should be just as simple. We pray; God listens. We confess our sins; God forgives us. God speaks; we obey. We humbly offer our praises and thanksgivings; God blesses us.
