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.' –Matthew 22:37 (NRSV)
Did you know that
the wheat fields in Israel have fed God’s people for generations? Bethlehem’s name means “House of Bread.” Hmm, interesting. Does that ring any bells in your head when
you think of Sunday Communion and the fact that Jesus chose to use bread in
this Sacrament? God seems to have a theme that is evident in Scripture. He uses
the simple things, the everyday, common things around us to illustrate many
truths.
Is God a God of
simplicity? It doesn’t appear so when we
study the words written in Scripture; when we try to understand the deep truths
of the Bible. Yet God asks us to do only
one thing from our hearts to receive every good and perfect gift from him: Love the Lord your God with all you heart,
soul, and mind. God desires one thing
from us and that is worship. Can you lay
down your life, like Mary, and let God use you as he wills?
Do you have a desire
to simplify your life? Confessing the
Lordship of Christ will simplify your service as well. If this is important to you then just find
the answer to two questions.
These are the
questions Paul asks Jesus on the road to Damascus: “Who are you, Lord?” (Acts 9:5) and
“Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
“Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
God loves us and
wants us to love each other. In this,
the season of giving, are we willing to give ourselves into God’s service?
There is a church
tradition that says when John, the apostle, was an old man in Ephesus, he had
to be carried to church in the arms of his disciples. At these meetings he was accustomed to say no
more than, “Little children, love one another”.
He said this because it was the Lord’s command.
God of love, teach me daily
what it means to love you wholly and to love myself and my neighbor with grace
and justice.
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