I am very grateful to God for another day of life, and that He is and will continue to show love to me and all that ask of Him; as we come with various needs, questions and distress. God Himself says, Come unto me, and I will give you rest”. In my experience, reading and observation, there is no other offer that matches the one from Jesus; in that it is free, does not come with hidden strings attached, and the answer matches the need, (though we may not appreciate that at first). Many times I have experienced unexplained rest and acceptance, after I have prayed with full mind and heart involvement; in humble, needful supplication. As also written in the scriptures, ‘taste and see for the Lord is good.’
Jesus Himself is recorded by the disciples, as having had much to say on love from His Father and Himself and upon the availability of this love, for every person who asks, and how we as Christians, should not only love the Father and He first, but every other person upon this earth: because He does, and we have accepted Him, as our Lord and Saviour. Mark 12: 28 “Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’” Verse 29 “Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Jesus was quoting (Deuteronomy 6: 4, 5) from the words of Moses, spoken before they were to into the Promised Land. Jesus knew how to deliver the heart of the message, with what happens when we ‘hear’ that God is all we need and He not only loves us, but will fill us with His love, and an increasing ability to love Him, and others. Mark 12: 30, 31 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Such profound teaching has great implications, and ground for misapplication, if brushed over quickly. This is all of me, total mind and heart involvement for God; devoid of what I may think I must do, or addressed by saying’ I am loving to others, so that is all that matters’; this means loving God with my whole being, so that I am entirely motivated by love: His love.
With obedience to God’s requests and acceptance of His Divine will, come great spiritual and emotional rewards. Jesus is our perfect example, of living in the strength and will of His heavenly Father, and this we can also do. For example, Philippians 2: 3 – 5 “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
I am again stirred by the words, of the prophet and apostle Paul, Philippians 2: 12, 13 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.”
Father again I understand that it is be putting Christ first in my priorities, and allowing Him to work through me, that I become a person more able to love, and be like Him. Please humble my heart so that I can truly do that. Thank You for hearing my heartfelt prayer.
Amen