Love, sweet love....

Matthews 22:36-40.
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

It seems like every few months over the last few years I think about these verses. I find it interesting that Jesus says that "loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind" is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is "love your neighbor as yourself". Why do I find it interesting, you might ask? Hmmm....I'll let you think about it.

Wow, what would it be like if we decided to live one day....just start with one...where everything we did, everything we said, everything we thought reflected that we loved God with all our heart, soul, and mind? Or as it says in a different translation of Scripture (the Message)...

Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them."

So my challenge for myself...and you, Mr. Phelps, if you choose to accept it (for all of us old Mission Impossible fans) is to live one day by loving the Lord with all our passion, prayer, and intelligence and love our neighbors as ourselves.

Think about it, make all our decisions, all our conversations, all our thoughts reflect that we love God with all our passion, prayer, and intelligence and that we love our neighbor as ourselves.

Would it change our mode of operation? Probably...

For the better? Most likely...

Let's try it. We might like it...