John 14:11

When my dad was alive,one of the things I looked forward to the most when I saw him was getting a hug from him.When he hugged you,you knew you had been hugged!He wrapped his two arms around you, then gave you a really good hug!You knew he was communicating that he loved you...he meant it!And,there was nothing sissy about my dad!When I was a kid I knew that my dad was the bravest,most courageous man n the world...the most masculine of men I knew.I never saw him throw himself n front of a speeding train or a bullet...,doing  anything that made me think this!But the way he exuded courage n the way he lived,and the way he loved,made it obvious to me!It wasn’t until years after he died that I learned that my dad was actually a real life courageous hero!Twenty years after my dad died I learned that by the time he was 21 he had received 3 Bronze Stars for acts of courage,& 5 Purple Hearts for battle wounds(1 wound was so serious that he was told he was going home!When he heard this,he escaped the field hospital and made his way back to his unit!As a medic,he could not let himself go home while his friends were n the fight)and many other commendations for his combat actions during WWII.All that to say that I learned what real hugging means;what only a real hug can convey->the love and commitment it can convey!Dad gave me an appreciation for a sincere TWO ARMED HUG!N Jn14 Jesus gives us a picture of what it looks for us to truly love Him!And that nothing less than a TWO ARMED HUG will convey that sincere love!The first arm is that of TRUSTING Christ!N Jn14:11 Jesus says,”Believe n me when I say that I am n the Father and the Father is n me,or else believe on account of the works(of Christ) themselves”. Jesus is describing the first ARM of hugging/loving Him!That is trusting as TRUTH what He says as revealed through the Bible and the recorded miraculous signs&wonders Christ performed...!The next ARM of hugging/loving Jesus is n Jn14:15,where Jesus says,”If you love me,you will obey what I command.”If we truly TRUST that Jesus is God as The Bible says,then we will know that HE is the ONLY ONE that knows enough to know what’s best for me!That being TRUTH,whatever HE shows me/instructs me to do is for my best...because HE first loved me!If I truly TRUST Him,then it follows that I will OBEY/FOLLOW Him!And there Jesus shows us how we love Him...,how we show Him our love with a TWO ARMED HUG!We TRUST Him,& OBEY/FOLLOW Him!There is no other way,but to TRUST and OBEY!Like the song says,

“Trust and obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey”

Dear Lord,most of the time...if I am hugging You at all it is with a weak 1 arm hug.And I know that comes far short of loving you fervently.Help me to b aware of the absence of BOTH arms of loving you/hugging you n my life.Help me&guide me to throwing BOTH ARMS of my life n TRUSTING You,& OBEYING/FOLLOWING You...so my life will reflect a love for You that exceeds that my dad would show me via his hugs...the love and commitment that only You should have from my life!