Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The ONE thing that matters

"Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  The commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery... or murder... or steal... or covet'; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law."
(Romans 13:8-10)

I'm preparing a new sermon series on simplicity & generosity, and I've been thinking a lot about love.  Richard Foster challenges me to live a "simplified" life by focusing back on what Jesus called the (two) greatest commandment(s): Love God & Love Neighbor.  When we get back to the very basics, life becomes simpler and filled with joy.

Paul seems to echo that in Romans 13.  "Love is the fulfilling of the law," he says.  We have a huge book of stories, laws, history and instruction in The Bible.  But it's really not that complicated.  LOVE GOD.  LOVE ONE ANOTHER.  Everything else will fall into place.

Today, I will try to make a conscious decision to act out of love towards everyone I interact with.  (We'll see how it goes.  How about you?)

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