It’s pretty obvious that we need a different way of life. Ours isn’t turning out so well.
What if we were to go back to Jesus’ time here on this earth and see what He said – In Matthew 22: 35-40 – “One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
I know it…you don’t even have to say it. Chuck, I’ve heard it all my life, but I love God and I love others. Okay, then take a moment and measure yourself on this scale…Remembering that Jesus said in John’s Gospel, If you love Me, you’ll obey Me.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how are you doing in the Love God category and the Love others category? Ouch – this measuring stick isn’t comparing you to somebody else. If we are to truly find a better way of life, we SIMPLY MUST get the LOVE GOD part right…and when we do…the LOVE OTHERS comes so much easier.
If we love God with all our heart, will we display a critical spirit? Will we find pettiness and rigidity a natural part of our life? Will we allow hatred and racism to remain in our spheres of influence? Will we find fault with anything that isn’t all about us and live a self-serving life? OR…
Will we determine to encourage and love and listen to those that we once were critical of? Extend grace and mercy, flexibility and forgiveness in our daily lives? Will we see and serve others as opposed to looking past them with disinterest or bigotry? Will we offer love and a spirit of gratitude as opposed to making everything about us?
This is what it looks like when we GET GOD RIGHT – we’ll get our relationship right with Jesus, which allows us to display Him through us as opposed to revealing the opposite of HIM – US.
NOW – Would those that know you best, agree or post a different number based on their view of your life? I mean if they could see your calendar, your checkbook, your gps tracked path this past week?
It’s worth taking a tough look at my life and you might discover the same in your life!
—AChuck
