Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (HCSB)
4"Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. 5Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Leviticus 19:18 (HCSB)
Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
Mark 12:28-31 (HCSB)
28One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"29"This is the most important," Jesus answered: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, The Lord is One. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.31"The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."
As a child my third grade Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Merry shared the Love of Jesus through practical care and grace. To a rowdy class of boys and girls she blessed us with an unfailing love that engaged us, challenging us to awaken spiritually making the Bible, for the first time, God's love letter to us. Rev. Brewer taught us the life of Joseph emphasizing God's omniscience and omnipresence while revealing God's foreknowledge for all of life. This established a firm foundational relationship with Jesus that could not be shaken.
But is could be swayed. Jesus remained the same, but the need to Jesus transformed.... To knowledge, life skills, thought processes and tasks. Even more so in college, then again in the first years of ministry my relationship with Jesus was based on performance rather than Love.
In establishing relationality with the Father I found myself once again drawn back to the foundational truths taught by Mrs. Merry, Rev. Brewer and my Grandfather. Love God, Love Others, and whether you are Brilliant or Dumb it is God that Leads, it is all about God.
Here I am Lord use my Love for You to reveal Your Love for others, for that is what my Love for You leads me to.
Love the Lord, Love others, Led by the Lord.
