9480bMy mom, bless her, has a routine that she has performed for years and years.

Daily, she sprays her bed linens with the scent of Jean Nate. Yes, and when you walk into her home, you have this fragrance wafting in on a cloud along with what I believe is a faint touch of mothballs. (No doubt the mothballs were a necessity for every conscientious homemaker who has lived in the tropics, as we did for many years.) It does make for, shall I be kind, a unique combination. But nevertheless, she loves it.

Mom began purchasing Jean Nate years ago, so if you are looking to find a bottle or two, you may have trouble finding it. I believe Mom has purchased every bottle she could find and they are all in her linen closet. Quart bottle sizes, mind you. Once upon a time, in the days before Costco, there were stores called Fedco, and when they went out of business, Mom bought out their supply of . . . yes, you guessed right, Jean Nate. My dad says she has enough bottles to last her several lifetimes of linen spraying.

Just the other day, Mom was telling me again how she sprays the sheets every morning and how much she loves that scent. Then she paused, turned, and looked at my dad, who was reading in his lounge chair.

“Honey, you love the way I spray the sheets and they way smell, don’t you?”

Looking over the top of his newspaper, he flatly replied, “No, I’ve told you this before, Pilar . . . I’ve never liked it.”

Never one easily discouraged, Mom, to this date, continues spraying their sheets and towels to her heart’s delight.

In John 14:15, Jesus says to His disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (ESV). Sometimes I wonder, despite our church attendance, or the songs we sing, or the sermons we hear, if we truly love Jesus the way He wants to be loved. It’s not a bad idea to think this question through deeply because what we call love may not be love as Christ defines it.

To welcome Christ into our hearts, we must hand over the keys to the front door, the back door . . . and every door. Instead have we welcomed Jesus into our lives only to force Him into a corner chair and, in effect, tape His mouth shut and tie His hands?

We must welcome a Christ who speaks, who has viewpoints and commands and principles and convictions. A Christ who has ideas about sexuality, marriage, work, friendships, money . . . everything! To have Christ living in us is to welcome His ideas into our hearts, and to receive heaven’s viewpoint as our own.

In a scene from Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye, the colorful and indomitable father and husband, is sweetly asking his sharp-tongued wife, Golde, a question.

Tevye: “Golde, do you love me?”

Golde: “Do I what?”

She is distracted, straightening the bed covers, fluffing the feather pillows, moving about the house from bedroom to kitchen. Instead of considering his question and giving an answer, she sidesteps it.

Golde: “With the daughters getting married, and trouble in the town . . . you’re upset, you’re worn out. Go inside; go lie down.”

Tevye: “Golde, I’m asking you a question. Do you love me?”

“Do I love you? After 25 years I’ve washed your clothes, cooked your meals, cleaned your house, given you children, milked your cow. After 25 years why talk about love now?”

Funny, isn’t it, how two people who are technically married can live with each other, sleep in the same bed, and yet can find themselves a thousand miles apart in their thoughts and hearts.

So in case we may forget and distract—or worse, deceive—we need to ask ourselves the hard question: do we love Jesus the way He wants to be loved? The only way to know the true answer is to ask the Holy Spirit to help us hear His voice, through the pages of our Bibles, speak into our lives. Then we must respond in obedience or disobedience, faith or doubt, repentance or refusal.