Loyal Love

There are some pretty significant memories that I have of my grandma, on my mother's side. She loved me, and that was a big deal for me.  She loved coffee, too, and she smoked.  Her purse always smelled like juicy fruit gum.  Her language was colorful. She loved to make dessert and can jams, jellies, fruits, and vegetables. She was a good cook. She liked to watch TV, especially game shows, like the Price is Right. She lived in a pink house, on a hill, and she had a big yard. She liked the artwork I did on the bedroom wall with her lipstick, she liked it so much it remained there for years! She was opinionated, bold, involved, and dear to my heart.
I would spend my summers playing at her house, spending time with her.  It is a good memory.  It's good because I knew she loved me.  I knew she was there for me, and I knew she cared.  I believed all of this because of her actions. Her walk towards me showed me her love and care. She spoke loving words to me as well, and then she proved them to me through her actions. I needed that. She was a gift from God to help me survive.
This morning I read 1 John 2. This verse reminded me of my grandma: "If someone claims, ' I know him well' but doesn't keep his commandments, he's obviously a liar.His life doesn't match his words. But, the one who keeps God's word is the person in whom we see God's mature love. This is the only way to be sure we're in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived."
Further down in the chapter: "It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others."
Okay, so here's my question. My grandma didn't have much to do with God. She wasn't a church goer by any means. She thought the church we went to was full of hypocrites, and she was diligent to run the other way. But, she was full of passion and love. She walked out Christ's love for me, and she inspired me to search for more. Did she know Him? She didn't really talk about Him. How does all this apply to me? I am friends with Jesus, I love Him with all my heart.  I speak of Him and I want to be a witness for Him.  The more I do life; it is confirmed to me that unless I walk out His love, it means nothing.  I have to be a living testiment of who He is, my love has to be action, passion, fire that blazes deep within my soul, and it has to warm those around me.  Love, it is the most valuable, life saving gift I can receive and offer.
Near the end of the chapter, this verse stood out for me: "They left us, but they were never really with us. If they had been, they would have stuck it out with us, loyal to the end. In leaving, they showed their true colors, showed they never did belong."
I want to remain loyal to the end.  Loyal to my Jesus, loyal to my family, loyal to my friends.  I want Him to light the path marked for me, and enable me to stay loyal to the goal. I want to have compassion for those that are not loyal, for those that choose to leave. This is a mission life, it is His, not mine. He has given me a purpose, and that purpose is to love loyally, unconditionally, fully, and with grace.  Thank you Jesus, for all your children desire this.
Say That Again, Jesus and say it to me continually.  I can't do loyal love unless You do it through me!