Have you hugged your God today?

I remember when I was a teenager (oh, 5-6 years ago...) there was a bumper sticker that was very popular that read "Have you hugged your kid today?" and for whatever reason, it came to mind today, and I couldn't help but think that such a reminder is at one time funny and at the same time quite sad. I mean, as a parent, if anything my kids might say to me, "Dude! Get off me!" as I'm always hugging, kissing, tickling, and loving on them. For me and Jolie, the bumper sticker "Have you hugged your kid today?" is as absurd a question as "Have you breathed today?" or "Have you blinked your eyes today?" We know that a relationship, whether husband to wife, parent to child, thrives best with regular, caring interaction and investment. We seldom let a day go by without letting those close to us know we care for them-- it wouldn't seem normal or right. Think about it-- if you had a serious boyfriend or girlfriend, and for an entire day you didn't hear from them with no warning or reason-- what would go through your mind? You would think something was wrong, that he or she was upset, disgruntled, or even wayward. We need and desire the affirmation that daily contact provides. "Have you hugged your kid today?" DUH!

So why is it that we have no qualms so often about not meeting God every day. Doesn't that seem to be the relationship that we can push aside, allow to be crowded out by busyness, schedules, trivial pursuits-- just about anything, in fact, can supersede meeting with the Creator of the universe, the author of our salvation. Yet God says again and again, "If you seek Me, you will find Me," and "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." How do we forego, ignore, put off the love of God for the most insignificant refuse the world has to offer? Are we mad?

Have you hugged your God today?