Yesterday I repeatedly heard the phrase,”a simple life.” This morning I woke up ruminating on those words and wondered what would a simple life look like for me? My mind began to think about limiting multi tasking, reducing the amount of electronic distraction, etc.
As I sat down with my coffee, yogurt and Bible I asked God to show me what it means to live a simple life. I opened my Bible to Mark 12 to pick up where I left off yesterday. Here is what I read (italics added by me):
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
I don’t know that I’ve ever had God answer my question so quickly and directly. A simple life: Love God; Love Others!
Love God with:
All My Heart – my passions, my emotions
All My Soul – my innermost being, the very essence of who I am
All My Mind – my thoughts, my intellect, my reason
All My Strength – my physical being, my every movement
I was telling Jerry about this, and then we went to church. As the message began this passage from Matthew 22 was on the screen (again, italics added by me):
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.”
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| So thankful for all this man has taught me about loving God and loving others! |
Jerry looked at me, and we smiled – I’m thinking God wanted to be sure I heard the answer . . . loud and clear!