Apple of His Eye

 

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings….      Psalm 17:8

 

Our fourth grandchild, Jack, recently turned six months old. All four have been  pleasant babies (at least that’s how I remember them!). This one is different. He smiles and smiles, and then he laughs. As he scratches the eczema on his face he smiles. If you reach for him, he smiles. And, more than others (except his Mom), he smiles for his Pops (my husband).

As we talk about it, we wonder what makes this little guy so happy. We know he has plenty of action to watch with his siblings (and he smiles for them, too), but that eczema looks uncomfortable (it’s healing with some diet changes for Mom).  He sleeps, eats, and is just a regular baby in every other way.

In a world where we know about babies being aborted, babies being abused, and babies being rejected or left as orphans, we are especially grateful for this little one and his personality and joy. But, as I think about it, should we not delight in every little child’s personality and demeanor. Psalm 139 says we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that God has knit us together in our mothers’ wombs. He creates each one of us and gives us life. It is a special privilege Christian parents have to raise our children to love and fear Him who gave them life.

As we were talking about the special joy God has given him, and he has with my husband, my daughter pointed out that my husband has put a lot of effort into his relationship with Jack. When he comes home, he always greets everyone. With Jack, he goes out of his way to go to him, get down on his level, and talk to him.  If he is fussy (and he does get fussy) at dinner, Pops will volunteer to take him, and hold him or walk him, always communicating with him as they go. It usually brings more smiles.

From early in his little life, Pops put effort into his relationship with Jack and Jack noticed.

This is true for every relationship we have, including our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The more we invest, the greater the relationship will be. It is a simple truth, the more we put in, the more we get out. Bible study is one way to invest, but this also includes prayer, loving our neighbors, and obeying God’s commands.

Jack is the apple of his Pop’s eye. This means, like the pupil of our eyes, he would protect him, and guard him, as the Psalmist asks God to do “in the shadow of his wings” (Psalm 17:8).

As we think about how we are working on human relationships, are we willing to consider the time and energy we give to building our relationship with the Lord? We quickly learn what pleases a baby enough to get him/her to smile, and even a baby learns early what pleases others (Jack gets a lot of attention from his smiles).

Are we as intentional about pleasing God as we are with pleasing our children?