John 14:15 ESV
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
It should be that simple. There are just two commandments:
…“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’…‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37b, 39b ESV)
The first one, I feel pretty good about. The second one I struggle with from time to time.
In order to claim that I’m obedient, I really feel called to work on this second commandment. I pray about it. “Lord, please soften my heart toward __________ and allow me to see him as you do. Help me to become more Christlike in my words and actions. Guide and direct me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
Matthew 22:40 (ESV) says: “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” This means that if we follow these two, we won’t break any of the Old Testament commandments. (My simplified explanation). If we love God with all our heart, that will take care of the first four. (I don’t know what to say about the Sabbath). Then the last five commandments would be adhered to if we simply love our neighbor (everyone is our neighbor) as ourselves. (See Exodus, Chapter 20).
Can you imagine a world where everyone loved each other like that? A world where we saw the good in each other? A world where we didn’t constantly judge each other based on looks, beliefs, or temperament? It would be Heavenly.
Prayer
Please join me this week in praying for obedient hearts and minds. Let’s pray that God speaks clearly to us that we may discern His voice and His will for us. Pray that we seek to be obedient every single day. Ask Him to guide us to do His will and to help us grow to become more Christlike in our daily walk.
