Matthew 22:34-40
The Great Commandment
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Again we are presented with a succinct formula for happiness, direction and purpose. It's what we were created for, it's what God himself does, and IS: LOVE. When we were young we had to learn true love through the many false loves we might have experienced, "love" that had a lot of "me" in it, self-serving, self-centered "love". We eventually found out, that was not it; love does not point to me, but to you. Love pulls me out of myself, purifies me, empties me so that others might benefit and grow. And when we eventually learn that love of and for God is really the reason for our existence, then the debilitations, disruptions and diseases of aging fall by the wayside and love becomes our main preoccupation, our main "raison d'etre", the fuel that fires our engines in the final phase of our journey. The sooner we discover this and center on love, the more pleasant the journey becomes. Let us spend time this Sabbath, this Sunday, to reflect on the gift and the power of LOVE.
Bro. Rene
Dear God, you are LOVE and you love us unconditionally.. Help us to live and grow in your love and share it with others. Amen.
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