It’s Supposed to be Simple (What is The Point, Part II)

So where am I headed with all this “What’s the point?” talk?

There is so much that I could say here. But I’m going to keep it focused.

Jesus said unto him, You shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Jesus said it Himself. What is written above is THE POINT. The first commandment. The greatest commandment. This is what matters MOST.

It’s love.

Just love.

Only LOVE.

Love God. and love others.

It’s supposed to be simple. What God asks of us is this: just to love.

When I feel distracted by this world, bombarded by many messages and confused about my purpose in each season? I only need to remember love. For the calling and purpose to love is central. IT DOES NOT CHANGE. It is first. It is greatest.

How do I love God? I love him by acknowledging Him in my daily life, as my constant companion. I love Him by enjoying Him. I love Him by eagerly seeking to learn more about Him. I love Him by purifying my heart so that it is a place where He can easily dwell. I love God by understanding that all the work I put my hands to, whether it’s dishes and laundry or anything else. There is no secular work here. All can be made sacred if done unto the Lord.

But this worshipping with my hands and my life is not separated into tiers of “Better worship” or “Worship, but-not-quite-as-good-as-someone-who-does-more”. Sometimes when we look at the lives of others, I think we start to think in this way without realizing it. That one category is more worthwhile than another? Because it’s not.  This is why filtering is no necessary! We are always hearing messages of more, more, more. We can want more, have more, do more, be more. Ugh I’m sick of it. Give me less, please. I’ll take less of what this world has and more of what God has, if you don’t mind.

How do I love others? I serve them with joy. JOY in God despite life circumstances is so key here, and is basically in and of itself, an entire life project. I teach my children all that I know and give them tools to continue their own learning. I meet my husband’s needs and respect and support him. How to love my friends, family, and even the strangers in my life? By being a good friend, by praying, by serving, by giving, by being present in their lives, and by speaking of God’s truth and love as often as I can. I do it all because of LOVE.

That is our life calling as followers of Jesus.

That is THE POINT.

LOVE is the point.

It is that simple.

That is what God asks of us.

Love is first and foremost. Everything we do should happen through that.

Sometimes we make it so very complicated. We load a lot more ‘shoulds' into that simple calling.  I want to fight to keep my eyes on the main thing. I want my filter of what I put into my life, what I put my hands to and how I spend my time to be done through the filter of LOVE.