Fall is here. You never know how much you miss something until it is gone. I missed the fall last year when we were in Houston. I missed the chill in the morning as you walk to your car. I missed how wonderful and perfect it is to sit by a bonfire, roasting smores, wearing a hoodie, and enjoying fellowship. So i'm thankful for that. I might go get some wood tonight to enjoy this!
Please be in prayer for my grandfather. He had a major surgery, and had a mini stroke afterwards and they think it is having some effects upon his mind. Very unfortunate. We get to go see him this weekend.
I have been meditating on The Great Commandment lately. So much of my life has been wrapped around The Great Commission. And, praise God for that! However, I think The Great Commandment has taken a second place to this. And I think that might not be right. Here it is:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And 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.
(Matthew 22:36-37 ESV)
I have to ask myself, "How do I do this everyday? How Do I love the Lord with all my heart? How do I love the Lord with all my soul? How do I love the Lord with all my mind?" Do I, intentionally, think about this everyday, and strive to do so more in my life? These questions, I think, are very important. As followers of Jesus under grace, we many times can just sit. We simply sit and are not growing in our lives. We become stagnant, we look around our lives, and wonder why they are the way they are. The Great Commandment suggests that we love the Lord, holistically. Meaning, that our lives should be completely wrapped up in Jesus, and not in ourselves. Every level of our lives should revolve around Jesus. So if I am going to love the Lord with ALL of my mind, what I put into my mind will directly result in how effectively I do this. If i'm to love the Lord with all my strength, the energy and time I spend will be different.
I'm starting to understand, evermore, that Jesus commands us to submit to Him not just as Savior, but as LORD. Meaning, ALL of us is his. Our comfort, our resources, our time, our stability, our emotions, our abilities. They are all owned by Him, not us.
For the Glory of God, I want to glorify His name, and one way of doing this is the Great Commandment.
So combine the Great Commandment, with what is more commonly referenced by me (being a missions guy) The Great Commission, and you have Jesus moving through man in such a way that it is an unstoppable force.
