Duty Or Delight: Love Makes The Difference
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
Matthew 22:37
The sergeant growls, “Now, do it! And that’s an order!” Muttering to himself, the soldier stoops to the assigned task.
Advertisement
Ironic, isn’t it, that the greatest command from our commander-in-chief is a command to love.
“Love the Lord your God … Love your neighbor as yourself.” The law of love supersedes all others. It’s that “greatest commandment” of which Jesus speaks in Matthew 22—and which became the consuming passion of Thomas à Kempis.
WALK WITH THOMAS À KEMPIS
“Blessed is the man who knows what it is to love Jesus, for Jesus desires to be loved alone above all things.
“Love him and keep him for your friend, and he will stand by you when other friends depart.
“When Jesus is present, all is well and nothing seems difficult. But when love for Jesus is absent, everything becomes hard.
“How dry and hard you feel without Jesus! How foolish and empty when you seek anything apart from him!
“He is very poor who lives without Jesus; he is very rich who has him for his friend.”
WALK CLOSER TO GOD
Keeping the Great Commandment is as easy as falling in love. And love is the supreme motivation for service.
Washing windows. Cutting lawns. Bathing children. Fixing faucets. You’ll seldom find these items written into a marriage contract!
Yet millions of husbands and wives do these and other chores—without being paid a cent!
Why? The law of love.
Encouraging. Nurturing. Testifying. Giving. These are just a few of your responsibilities as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
And whether you view them as a duty or a delight depends on your love for the Savior.
So how’s your love life?
