Blessed Son of God, am I loving You with all of my heart and my brother as myself? This seems to be a very important question that must be answered by every believer. When I contemplate how You deal with me, it causes me to pause and think. You see each and every fault and failing that I have … yet, You do not bring up every detail to my attention all at once. Instead, You focus on one area at a time, slowly polishing all of my rough edges. You get around to everything in its own time … starting with the thing that is the most important. Love must become the most important factor in all that I say, think or do. If I cooperate with you in smoothing out my rough edges, I can be confident that the same thing is going on in the lives of others. I must trust that You possess the skills and wisdom to guide me on how to love You and my neighbors more.
My life will become more content when I learn to keep the bigger picture in view. Too often I become critical of my efforts to become more like You. And I focus too much on “what’s wrong with my neighbor.” I’m the only one who can make the decision to love You more deeply and spend time with You. And, when it comes to dealing with my neighbor, You said “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your eye … You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck in your brother’s eye.” In this scripture, You condemn judgmental attitudes and encourage replacing them with self-examination, changed behaviors and actions motivated by love for You and my fellow man. I am called to exercise discerning thought rather than negative criticism.
What You ask of me is to love You with all of my heart and with all of my soul and with all of my mind. The primary way to show You that kind of love is by obedience of Your commands and conforming my life into the one shown to me through Your life. Rather than worrying about all I should not do, I should concentrate on all I can do to show You how deeply You are loved. When I can eliminate seeking what I want and replace it with what You want, the closer I will come to fulfilling my call. When I love You with all of my heart and care for others the way You care for me, then I will be living out the principles You laid out in the Ten Commandments. I must learn to open up my heart to allow Your thoughts to become my thoughts … Your choices to become my choices …and my actions to emulate Yours. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Mark 11:30-31 Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your mind and with all of your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.