A Lesson in Love

How do I love? In Mark 12, 28:34, Jesus gives us the answer in a commandment to live by:

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
32 "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Wow, how exciting to be that close to the kingdom of God! And if we live this way, by this command, we will be in the kingdom! But the unfortunate choice not to ask specifically how this is done plagues us still today. This is witnessed in the mean, self-indulgent society that we live in ruled by spiteful governments, high divorce rates, an increase of folks taking anti-depressants, children raised in day care, divisive sects of Christianity, etc. So what do I do to remedy this and live by love? Here are the steps:
1. Get the idea of love in my mind.
2. Tell my heart to be open to give and receive love. This will connect my heart and mind.
3. Act on the feeling of love traveling between my heart and mind.

It is not enough to think loving thoughts. It is not enough to feel love. It takes both coupled with action to live as God desires us to do. Here are some examples: I love to hear your voice so I take the time to listen to you. I love how your skin feels so I touch you. I love the way you look so I spend time with you. I love to make you feel good so I learn about the things you like and make them manifest in your life. I love to help you so I remain attentive to your needs and am always at the ready to assist you. And so on; you can see how busy we should be every day living by love. This doesn’t leave much time for us to worry and fret.

It’s important to get a healthy idea of what love is before we practice it so do your homework. Read books, talk to experts, read the bible, and pray. Love may take sacrifice, but it should never be painful; on the contrary, it should bring only joy.

God speed!