Date: Oct. 29 and 30, 2012
Passage: Matthew 22:37-40
Scripture:
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Observation:
Jesus was so incredibly clever. Of course He was, it's just that sometimes my little completely-unclever mind is in total awe! When the religious hypocrites of His association thought they'd trip Him up with tricky questions, they quickly found they were in over their heads. When they asked Him what could be the most important command of all their 'holy' law (probably thinking all the laws were equal and that they could 'get' Him when He elevated a single one over the others) He simply answered, 'Love God - with everything you have.'
Who could argue with that?! Of course that one would be the most important! They probably felt really foolish.
But then Jesus takes the situation a step further, turning it from a 'Q & A session' into a sermon - one perfectly balancing love and rebuke.
'The second-most-important command is like the first: Love others the same way you love yourself.'
And He adds a final punch to these guys who felt like keeping all those laws was the most important thing in their lives: 'All the laws are based on these two commands.'
Basically, get these two down pat and you won't need to worry about the rest; all the others will just fall naturally into place.
Application:
Oh how I long to Love! How I want to love God with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind! My Lord first, above all else, other people even, of course. God help me love You More!
And others. Oh how I want to Love! To love all others the same way I love myself - that sounds at first very easy, but how hard it really is when taken literally! Naturally, like all other people, I subconsciously look out for 'me', first. Not necessarily on purpose, it just happens. When it gets close to lunch time, I start thinking about how hungry I am, automatically. When my stomach growls, I don't immediately think, "So-and-so needs something to eat." I think, "I'm hungry." When I don't feel good, I'm not thinking of extra chores I can do to lessen Trissy's load - my mind is automatically distracted by my headache or sore throat. To love others is a conscious decision - humans automatically look out for themselves first.
So how would it be to love others as we love ourselves? Like the first command, it is one that will require constant practice throughout life. Oh that I may come closer everyday!
Prayer:
"God help me love You More! Help me love You with all my heart; that everything I consider important or special be something that is important or special to You - something that will last, that will effect eternity for Good. Help me love You with all my soul; let me never look to something or someone else to satisfy my hunger and thirst for You and Your Word. Help me love You with all my mind; may all that I consciously put before my eyes (anything I read, watch, or look at), put into my ears (music, conversations with others, etc.), or allow myself to think about, be only what would help me grow closer to You, and help me to serve other people better.
Oh Father help me Love! Help me love people! Cause my love to shine out so brightly that others can see I care about them. Help me to help. Use me to bless those that have blessed me, and those I long to bless. Help me to be open to loving the 'unlovable' people. Give me wisdom - show me how to turn my love into appropriate action that would accomplish Your glory in their lives.
Cause my love for You and for others to only grow greater, and to be a light to direct the wandering to You. In the Name of Jesus, Amen."
Note: The words of Jesus in single quotes are my paraphrase of the actual quotes from the Bible.
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