Dear Friends,
The other day I was shopping when I saw this sign. Notice the clever way the way the promotions department used the word “ENTIRE,” then added the disclaimer “Limited Exclusions Apply.” Now, look at Jesus’ words recorded in Mark’s Gospel and consider what exclusions we may make when it comes to loving with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
“Love the Lord your God 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 (NIV)
What do you think it means to “love” God? Loving God with our heart and soul may involve feelings — the comfort, the confidence, the courage, and the hope that comes from having the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. That is a gift from God that is independent of our thoughts or actions.
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NLT)
On the other hand, loving God with our mind and strength is where we are in control, or out of control — as the case may be. This is where we are tempted to apply our own “limited exclusions” — to choose our way rather than God’s way. We see this struggle of wills in how we respond to Jesus command to love our neighbor as ourselves.
In the Mounce translation of the New Testament, one of the definitions of love (agapaō) is “to feel or manifest generous concern for another.” Do we always feel that kind of concern for our neighbors, or do we have exclusions?
The other day I was driving to an appointment when I spotted an elderly gentleman standing by the side of the road, a knapsack slung over his shoulder, and his arm extended, thumb up, hitchhiking. My first instinct was to pull over and offer him a ride, but I was in the inside turn lane and would have had to maneuver carefully to get to the shoulder. In the amount of time it took for me to check my mirrors, competing thoughts filled my head.
“What if he’s a serial killer. (There are a lot of octogenarian murderers, you know.) What if he has to go farther than I need to go? I do have an appointment.
What if he might want to talk about his problems? That could open another can
of worms.”
I stayed in my lane and continued down the road, but a stronger voice intervened. “If you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.” I made a U-turn. Then I told God I was willing to help but would appreciate it if someone else would stop to help the man. As it turned out, someone who had a more generous concern for another (at that time) had already stopped to offer a ride.
Let me be very clear; I am not encouraging anyone to pickup hitchhikers. In this instance, I felt what I believe was a tug from the Holy Spirit challenging me to demonstrate, at that moment, how much I love God. Each of us will encounter situations in which the love we show to another is a measure of our love for God.
Bonnie and I are reading a wonderful collection of short stories Love Does by Bob Goff. In one of the stories, Bob mentions that every time he types the word “love’ in a text message, spell-check changes “love” to “live.” He concludes, “I learned that fully loving and fully living are not only synonymous, but the kind of life Jesus invited us to be a part of.”
Next time you have the chance to send a text message, type: “I love you.” If your smart phone thinks like mine does (or if you fat finger the keys like I do), it will change “love” to “live” — a reminder that we show our love for God by how we live for Him.
Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ
Because He Loves Us Press 