Love Well

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad! Isn't God faithful today?!?

I had the privilege of sitting in a lesson taught by one of my favorite scholars about two months ago. Dr. Scot McKnight is a professor of the New Testament and an author of several books. One of my new favorites is the Jesus Creed. Highly recommend this book, but I highly recommend finding any teaching by him if you can. He taught about the Shema Prayer. I have gotten to where I say this at least once a day.

The Shema Prayer is "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your souls, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength." Deuteronomy 6:4. Jesus, as a Jew, grew up saying the Shema Prayer.

If you take the Shema Prayer and add this "Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment greater than these." It becomes the Jesus Creed. Jesus would have loved God and loved others.

In order to grow in Christ (spiritual formation), one must love God and others.

Matthew 10:37-38 (NIV) states, "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me."

So, my question to you is this: Do you love Him? I mean really love God and Jesus. Putting Him above all else. Above your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, your parents? Or how about above the TV, Facebook, college, or any other idol? As stated above in His own words, loving anything above Him, makes us unworthy of Him.

What about the second part? "To love our neighbor as yourself." We are called, as Christians to love all people. I often have not loved well. The ones I disagree with, the ones who betrayed me, the ones who hurt me, and yet, Jesus calls me to love them. It's uncomfortable, and often times inconvenient.

But Jesus loved them-the betrayers, the ones who hurt Him, who crucified Him. As Dr. McKnight says, "Jesus practiced the "Jesus Creed" by inviting the people some/most don't like to sit at His table." Bringing them to the table shows the love and grace of God.

It's going to be hard, and even challenging to love people we don't like. The world is getting darker. We, as Christians, are the light in this darkness. May each day we love more like Jesus, love Him more, and love others. Love just might bring someone to the foot of the Cross.

That's my challenge for you this week. Love! Love the people who hurt you. Love the outsider. Love the spouse, when you get mad at him this week. Love the disobedient child. Just love well...

Love and still under construction,

Veronica