A question was asked of Jesus in Matthew 22:36:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus responded,
“You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (vs 37-39)
Do we love Jesus with all our hearts? He is with us in the midnight hours of our lives, but He is also with us in the most joyful times. He is with us whether we invite him into our hearts or not. He is standing at the door waiting for us to open it and say, “Come in, Jesus be the Lord of my life.” He loves us unconditionally.
We may fail him, but He is standing with open arms for us to run back to Him. He is our joy, peace, strength, hope, love, and comfort. When we are weak, He makes us strong. He is our everything. When we love God with all our hearts, we will keep His commandments. We are to use our time, energy, talents, and love for Him. When God is first in our lives, loving Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds is easy.
But what about the second part of this scripture? Love your neighbor as yourself. Years ago, I was at a concert, and the Lord spoke to me about people in a way I have never forgotten. He called me to see the brokenness in people and told me to love them unconditionally. One particular scripture stood out to me that weekend. Matthew 9:37-38:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His fields.”
We all have a responsibility to share the good news with the world. In many places in the New Testament, Jesus tells us to go into this world and love people like He does. Someone is waiting on us today. People are hurting like never before. People are broken and need hope. They need us to follow the great commandment and tell them about Jesus. Sharing Jesus is not hard. All you need to do is share with them what He has done for you. You may be the one person that God has assigned to help them.
I want to challenge you today to pray and ask God to let you see people the way He does. Ask Him to help you obey His still, small voice every day. The harvest is great but the laborers are few. There are many people in need of care and attention. God wants to work through us. He wants us to be the people He can count on to love unconditionally to strangers, friends, and family.
During this holiday season, be God’s hands extended. Love like you have never loved people before.
Make an effort to love your neighbor as yourself. Remember, someone loved you enough to tell you about our great God.
Patti League
Lean into Jesus Ministries
#pattileagueblogs
