Post by Jerod W. Rickert on Jan 7, 2008 13:42:54 GMT -5
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Mat_22:36-40)
I was reading a really good devotional on these verses yesterday and thought I'd share some insights on these verses. It's interesting to me that these 2 simple thoughts seem so difficult to bring acrossed to our everyday lives. We all talk about love and how best to show it to a lost and dying world, but it is so simple...
The Love referred to in these to commands is Agape`, which, as we've discussed elsewhere, is simply the Love that puts the needs, wants, desires and condition of others (God and neighbors) ahead of oursleves. If we would simply, each day, ask "What is it I need to do today to show my love to God??", we would already be over 1/2 way there...
To show (not talk about, but to demonstratively SHOW) our Love to God is to find the opportunities He puts in our paths and to follow His will and example. Loving others becomes natural and second-nature when we pursue and actively seek to put God into the #1 spot in our life. If we are seeking His face and wil, and looking to Love Him, then loving others is no difficult proposition. Christ served, loved, acted in the best interest of others. He met their needs, taught them of a better way of life, brought them to a state of true repentance and introduced them to a relationship with the real, true and living God...
If we can simply take our eyes off of ourselves long enough to see the world around us through His eyes, we will begin to see the needs and opportunities that are there everyday. My precious friends, this world is desparately seeking True Love. We have the answer within, but we need to stop looking at our own shortcomings and desires and embrace the nature of Christ. Find a need or a hurt and give of yourself to make it better. Introduce them to the Living, Breathing Word of God and show them there is hope and a better way...
God Bless you all in the Glorious Love of Christ...
I was reading a really good devotional on these verses yesterday and thought I'd share some insights on these verses. It's interesting to me that these 2 simple thoughts seem so difficult to bring acrossed to our everyday lives. We all talk about love and how best to show it to a lost and dying world, but it is so simple...
The Love referred to in these to commands is Agape`, which, as we've discussed elsewhere, is simply the Love that puts the needs, wants, desires and condition of others (God and neighbors) ahead of oursleves. If we would simply, each day, ask "What is it I need to do today to show my love to God??", we would already be over 1/2 way there...
To show (not talk about, but to demonstratively SHOW) our Love to God is to find the opportunities He puts in our paths and to follow His will and example. Loving others becomes natural and second-nature when we pursue and actively seek to put God into the #1 spot in our life. If we are seeking His face and wil, and looking to Love Him, then loving others is no difficult proposition. Christ served, loved, acted in the best interest of others. He met their needs, taught them of a better way of life, brought them to a state of true repentance and introduced them to a relationship with the real, true and living God...
If we can simply take our eyes off of ourselves long enough to see the world around us through His eyes, we will begin to see the needs and opportunities that are there everyday. My precious friends, this world is desparately seeking True Love. We have the answer within, but we need to stop looking at our own shortcomings and desires and embrace the nature of Christ. Find a need or a hurt and give of yourself to make it better. Introduce them to the Living, Breathing Word of God and show them there is hope and a better way...
God Bless you all in the Glorious Love of Christ...