You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind…second is…you shall love your
neighbor as yourself. (vv 37, 39)
When I am thinking
something inappropriate, I have found that the best way to focus my mind on
Christ is quoting this scripture to myself. It is one of my favorite verses. I've quoted it a lot over the years. Isn’t
focusing our minds on Christ what we are suppose to do—at all times, not just when
we slip up and find inappropriate ideas running through our thoughts?
Here Jesus is quoting
Deuteronomy 6:5 which is part of the Shema, used by Jews in their daily prayers.
What does it mean to “love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind”? When you love someone you want to focus your
attention on them (not on the TV, newspaper, or internet). So when (not IF) we
love the Lord, we will give Him our undivided attention and let Him know that
we love Him---through prayer, Bible study, devotions, or just quietly listening
for His voice. Feast on His word today and Love Him with all your heart, soul
and mind.
This scripture is
similar to that recorded in Luke 11. Like the young lawyer in Luke 11 we may
want to rationalize “who” our neighbor is. I think that Jesus made it clear in
that parable of the Good Samaritan that our neighbor can be anyone, not just
the person next door. The Samaritan was an outcast---but he took care of beaten
man, when the priests and temple officials had ignored him. We should never
ignore those who need help, whether they are stranded on the desert desolate road between Jericho and Jerusalem, or on a street in our community.
Lord---I do love you above all else. Help me to focus my
attention on You and to show your love to my neighbors—who include my family
and friends, as well as those people who live next door.
© 2012
by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights
reserved.
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