Simply Love
Tuesday, June
27, 2017
Simply Love
Scripture:
Mark 12:29-31
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the
commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God,
the Lord is one. 30 And
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind, and with all your strength.’This is the
first commandment. 31 And
the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
1 John 4:7-8
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves
has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God,
because God is love.
1 Corinthians
13:4
4 Love suffers
long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade
itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely,
does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does
not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love
never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail;
whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there
is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For
we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But
when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done
away.
11 When I was a child,
I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I
became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For
now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but
then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide
faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Devotional:
I confess, there are times as one who studies the Word and seeks to fill
my heart and mind with Scripture I wonder why God continues to redirect me away
from searching the mysteries back to a few focuses. One is humility. Preferring
others, not seeking my own. Another is to simply believe. I am prone to
anxiety, and He is continually reminding me to keep bringing my cares to Him.
The main focus, however, over years of studying His Word, is my love
walk.
I walk imperfectly. There is no doubt about it. When I fail, when I say
or do the wrong thing and find myself in a struggle of relational tension,
sometimes I think there is another answer. I search for a solution in another
way, scrutinize the Word, wait for God to show me some incredible mystery that
will unlock the secret to my concerns.
The thing is, He made it very simple. Clear, concise. Even His
commandments to the Israelites were focused on love. Simply love. We want to
complicate it. We want to make a list of what to do to change our
circumstances. The truth is, the reason that God keeps redirecting me, and us,
back to love is that while it is a simple truth, it is not simple to walk out.
Daily, I have opportunities to walk the narrow beam of love. To stay within the
bounds of what love truly is, to allow God to love others through me. To go to
a deeper level of self sacrifice, to learn to serve the others in my sphere and
diminish my own return.
There is no better way, there is no better focus. We have a lifetime to
grow in this, and God has eternity to shine His love light over us. I pray
today that His love would be shed abroad in each of us that we might simply
love.
Prayer:
Father, I thank You that You are the author of love in me. I release
perfectionism, striving, and selfish desires to You. Teach me to love my family
and the world around us that we might be a beacon for Your Kingdom.
Intercession:
Take time to add to the journal list of prayer requests for your
child(ren). Give the situations to the Lord. As you can, take time to intercede
and pray over these concerns. The prayer of a righteous man or woman of God
avails much!
Lord, I give You this day and release my concerns to You. I bless You,
Lord! In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.
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