I grew up with my older sister listening to the Beatles. Typically I enjoyed listening to them too. Lots of the time I disagreed with them, but I've got to admit that John Lennon actually got close to the truth in his song All you need is love. It's just a matter of whose love.
I've mentioned before the time when my sons' father left me. God taught me a lot during that season of my life. My work had, unknowing anything about my personal life, come to me and asked me to move to a town about an hour and a half from where we had been living. The new position they offered me would pay close to $20K more a year. We moved.
So I was in a new town, with a new job, kind of in a new life. I didn't know anyone there, and sometimes the boys would go visit their dad so I'd have time alone. I took a lot of long walks by myself on the beach during those times; and I thought. Thought about what was important to me, what life was all about.
During that season of my life the Holy Spirit brought the scripture passage from Matthew 22:34-40 back to my mind:
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
It was one of those "aha!" moments. I realized that this was what life was all about - loving. Loving God, and loving the people who He brought into my life. 
It's like the Holy Spirit burned a passion to love Him and others into my heart; and that fire has never totally dissipated since. There have been times that the flame has flickered down low, but it has always remained. This desire to love God and love the people in my life has been the grid that I run potential actions through on a regular basis.
What about you, has God given you any Bible verse or passage that has become a grid for you?
3 comments:
Why is pain our greatest teacher? I'm sorry you had to be in that place to learn such an important lesson.
As you walked on the beach, I'm sure you can relate to Jesus' eHarmony bio:
Loves walking on the beach, often while carrying someone. :)
During the darkest season of my life, the Lord gave me Hebrews 12:1-3, especially v.3, Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.
Completely unrelated,the picture you placed lines up perfectly with the picture in the banner of the guy with his arms raised. At first that's what I thought I was looking at. ;)
One of my favorites. A passage that can truly change your basic outlook on life...and in a very good way.
Love you my sister Tracy!!!
I have a few - ones fro understanding the church (Eph 4:11) and ones for understanding the peril of the lost (Ps 40).
I guess I really love the closing few paragraphs in Romans 8 about life in the spirit and the understanding that God is so for me that nothing can separate me from His love. I needed to get past what I need to do, and learn what God was doing.
Thanks for sharing.
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