April 17, 2015 – Matthew 22:37-38

Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the great and first commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38Love me?  Of course, I love you.  How much?  Well… There is no question about God’s love for us.  He loves to the point of sacrificing His Son for us.  He loves enough to create us and give us a world to live in.We are commanded to love God — it is the first commandment!  It is not an after-thought.  It is a fore-thought.  A picture of how to love God is in the way God envelopes us and our lives in His Love.How much do we love God?  Do we love Him as long as He doesn’t interfere with our plans, our choices?  Do we love him as far as the exit doors of the church?  Do we love him long enough for an occasional thought and a rote prayer?Or do we love God with all our heart, our soul and our mind?  Do we yearn for Him?  Do we delight in our Lord?  There is no room for loving anyone else.  The lyrics of a love song come to mind — ‘All of me, why not take all of me?”  Yes, God, I love you with all my heart, soul and mind.  God asks, “Can you prove it?  Just how much do you love me?”  I think of all I will have to give up to love God totally.  How will I prove to God I love Him?  There are so many ways, and He has given me the answer…in just seven words.  It is the second commandment.”You shall love your neighbor as yourself!”  The odd neighbor that annoys me.  The person in the next pew who wears ridiculous fashions.  The unruly child who needs loving discipline.  The raggedly-dressed person who bumps into you on the subway. The short-tempered clerk at the store who short-changes you.  The hungry homeless man who asks for money on the street.  All of these, Lord?  There is no end….why should I love them?  When will I be loved?”You are loved, Child, I loved you before you were born.”  Love, Child, Love. Your life depends on it.  Matthew 10:42 –And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.“And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:39-40