Doing the Most Important Things First

When Jesus was asked one day what the greatest commandment was, he replied, "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.” (Mark 12:30,31 NKJV)
While reading this, I was struck by the simplicity of what Christ Followers have been called to do in contrast to how so many think we should live. Many of us are so caught up following the law and in the obedience of those around us that we can't focus on love. Then there are those who are caught up in our own obedience, our own service. We quickly forget what Christ really came to do. Christ came to reconcile us to Himself and to each other. So He asks us to do two things, love Him and love one another.
God is love! He wants us to love Him because in loving Him we find the freedom to love others. I'm not talking about the feeling of love, I'm talking about the action of love. The choice of love. Sometimes the pain of love. The love He gives us which is unconditional. A love not based on performance or on perceived worth.
He loves us wholly and completely and all He asks of us is to love Him back. Anything that we do for Him should be from the outpouring of our love for Him, not out of obligation (we can never pay Him back). It isn't about what we do it is solely about who we are. If everything we do is an overflow of the love we demonstrate for Him we will be filled with a peace and a purpose like no other.
My friend, you are loved. You are an immeasurable treasure and nothing you do can change that. Nothing anyone else says about you or does to you will change the love of your Creator. You are significant. Knowing that should allow you to see others in the same light. Would your responses to those who hurt you be different if you just remembered, "Jesus died for them too"? Are you able to love your neighbor in the way God commands you to? The more we spend time in His presence, loving Him, the more we began to know His love for us.


Always,


Hope