Loving

Loving

Good Morning Friends,

Today we explore the reality of what we have and what we really want and what we really need…This morning we face the challenge of getting it right of realizing that good relationships do not just happen… of realizing that the love we think we deserve is the amount of love we will actually accept. Today we embrace a purpose of becoming more Loving.

34Scripture: When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ ³⁷He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” ³⁸This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ⁴²‘What do you think of the Messiah?^* Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ ⁴³He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit^* calls him Lord, saying, ⁴⁴ “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’ “? ⁴⁵If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ ⁴⁶No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any.

Matthew 22: 34-46 (NRSV)

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

Genesis 2:15-17 (NRSV)

Message: Adam and Eve did not have too many neighbors to distract them from their purpose and still they messed it up. But blaming them is pointless for we are truly no better when it comes to sinning and not much better at loving either. Sure we are unworthy and do not deserve God but make no mistake about this. Self-condemnation should never be the focus of our feelings for that alienates us from Christ. Thankfully from the very beginning, God has taken great intention, pleasure and glory in relating to and connecting with Him through the beauty, experiences and lessons of Creation. Friends, you are the crown of his creation and our holy purpose as stewards is to glorify the Lord. Friends, we glorify the Lord by tending His garden by and not allowing our joy to be stolen by the enemy. Here our work expresses the divine image in us. Understand that this connection was in place from the very beginning and continues after Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection on our behalf. It is natural that we ask, “Why we are here?” It is natural to ask, “Do I matter?” Friends, we were put here for a purpose but we cannot figure this out by yourselves alone. We cannot improve our answers by acquiring things. We cannot create our own purpose. God put us here for a purpose. He formed you to be His servant. He chose you before the creation of the world. Know this about life: God loves us more than we know. God wants us to love Him with all our hearts. God wants us to love others in His name. This we can never own, we can only share. In the Great Commandments to love God, love ourselves (family) and love others (neighbors), Jesus shows us a pathway for our busy lives. He shows us the true essentials for life’s journey. And through this instruction I believe He intends for us to experience the sacrament of the grace of Jesus Christ himself made manifest in His very presence when we learn to do all three in love. In this singularity, the busyness ends and everything creatively fits together powered by love. We can live less frantically…more filled with the love of His Spirit as we commit our lives to one another. Friends, there is power in loving our neighbors.

Pray we realize that the devil will try to steal that which he cannot create. Pray we realize that God did not place us here to have trouble and sorrow and to end our days in shame. Pray our work is an opportunity to worship God, to work with God and to enjoy the fruits of our work. Pray we have a commitment to one another. Pray we understand that God puts a high value on our lives. Pray we too should value others as much as we value ourselves. Pray we understand our purpose. Pray our purpose gives meaning to our lives. Pray our purpose simplifies our lives. Pray our purpose prepares us to live. Pray our purpose keeps us focused. Pray our purpose motivates us.
Pray that we focus our lives on seeking God…in loving God…in being the Body of Christ together. Pray that we order our lives by being patient…being kind… living without envy. Pray that we hope in the conviction that God has created all people with a purpose. Pray we realize that God is not finished with any of us yet…that if we persevere and commit to Him, His purpose for us will become clear.

Blessings,

John Lawson