Matthew 22:36-40
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Dear Lord, you taught us these two most precious commandments. More hangs on them than the law and the prophets. Our existence, if it is to thrive, hangs on it as well. Your commandment points the way to full life. Your commandment to love you and others eliminates the narrowness of mind and heart and soul that confines us in fears rooted in self-absorbtion.
Now, as always...yet now more than ever, you are asking us to surrender to the love that you offer. Our most precious gift and asset is that we are loved completely and unconditionally by you.... but you let us decide for ourselves whether we will participate in the expansion of heart, mind and soul that results from your love.
Help us to surrender to the greatest and first commandment...remove any obstacles to loving you with all our heart, soul and mind.
When we love you in that way, you guide us to unabashed love for others... that is how you are... As we love you we can't resist loving our neighbors who are loved as fully by you as we are ourselves. As we love you our concern for ourselves diminishes, because in you we are whole...complete...with every need and desire met. As we love you, we are compelled to notice the many ways that we can serve others.
How will you express your love today? No action rooted in love is a small or insignificant one.
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