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Theo Tigno•
6/3/2004 11:56 am
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Thursday, June 3rd 2004 |
Mark 12:28-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for those who struggle with depression.
Once you say the word "sacrifice," your thoughts do not think of joy. The truth is, sacrifice is hard, otherwise it wouldn't be sacrifice.
We don't do burnt offerings, but there are times when we are called to give of our treasure, and while those times bring us joy, there is also a part of us that is fearful of the "what if" attached with the treasure we gave up.
It's amazing how loving Our Lord and loving our neighbor is worth more than sacrifice and offerings. What struck me more about this is how much harder it must be to love versus offering sacrifice or offerings. Since loving is worth more, it means that it costs more. I'm sure there is someone in your life that you can think of that reminds you how hard it is to love.
To coin an earthly phrase, you get what you pay for. As you continue to grow in love... true love that goes beyond mere emotion... your joy in being obedient to Our Lord will grow. Your joy in serving Christ in others will never go unrewarded, for the gift is truly yours for being a servant versus being served. In seeing this, loving also means allowing others to love you, and above all, allowing God to love you. Let God love you, and love Our Lord and our neighbor and you will not be far from the Kingdom of God. Take care and God Bless.
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