My Precious Savior, You made Your will very clear to me when You said … “Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind” … and, then You said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All of Your laws and precepts are inter-connected to these two important commands. Sometimes, despite my best intentions, I fall short of what You ask of me. When I lose sight of these commands, it is easy for me to go my own way and do things that hurt or offend You and others. If I am to please You, I must embrace Your instructions and reject my selfish, fleshly yearnings. What I have come to realize is that love is the foundation on which all of my relationships are built. As I allow Your goodness to fill my life, it becomes filled with a love that transforms my selfish desires into unselfish service. I am so thankful that You came to earth as a man, suffered indescribable pain for my sins and died that I might live.
I pray that as I become rooted and grounded in love, I will comprehend the breath, width, height and depth of the love You have for me. In the same way that You love me, I must love others … even if they reject me or use me in despicable ways. Love has the ability to do the impossible … and, in the same way that water cannot extinguish its fire nor rivers sweep it away … so is love faithful to accomplish that to which it is sent. As love is cultivated in my heart, it must be supported, nourished and cared for like a small, young seedling or an infant. I know that I will have achieved a measure of unselfish love when the happiness, security and development of another is as much a driving force in my life as my own happiness, security and development. I have come to see that true love is spelled GIVE. It is not based on what I can get, but it’s rooted in what I can give. The unseen truth in being set free by Your death and resurrection is the fact that I’ve been set free to love You and others with my whole heart.
I must never measure love by what it gets for me; instead, by what it cost me. By Your death for my sins, You paid the ultimate cost of love … may my loving acts bring ultimate joy to Your heart. I have come to the conclusion that forgiveness is the ultimate form of love. I must accept and act on the fact that what others know about Your love is what they see in my life. Since You have generously given me the gift of Your love, help me generously share that same gift with others. In Your commands to love You and my neighbors, You’ve given me the keys to contentment and joy. Help me love as You love … unconditionally. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Mark 12:30-31 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.