LOVE BY ASSOCIATION

I told my oldest son that maybe I should apologize to his fellow cast members, maybe my behavior had been a little out of line. Maybe I weirded them out. You see, after a smashing performance of "See How They Run," the cast came out front and lined up to greet the audience. Folks in front of me and behind me shook hands or asked for autographs as they worked their way down the receiving line. Me, I was so excited to see all of the actors that I went down the entire line hugging their necks and telling them how much I appreciated them.

I can't help myself - I'm turning into Grammy.

But, you see, during the many weeks of rehearsal, Reuben would come home talking about how much he was enjoying this play and how much he loved working with the other people in it. His enthusiasm was contagious. Without even meeting these folks, I was falling in love with them, simply because of Reuben's delight in them.

I did the same thing last week when I ran into my son's room-mate in the parking lot of the fitness center. When I pounced on the poor fellow with a spontaneous Grammy hug, he kind of looked confused and asked, "Do I know you?"

I have a diagnosis for my recent strange behavior: I call it "love by association." It's a spontaneous, irrepressible overflow of affection for a relative stranger, based on a go-between, a mutual acquaintance beloved by both parties.

It kind of amazes me to think that God feels such abundant, joyful, irrepressible affection for me - not because of who I am or anything I've done, but because of Jesus. That is so incredible.