January 14, 2019

Weekly Reflection – Two Great Commandments

Most of us are familiar with the two “great commandments” taught by Jesus, i.e., love God and love our neighbor as our self.  I have been thinking this week about what these mean in real life, actually in MY real life.  What does it look like to love God?  What does it look like to love my neighbor?

One “ah-ha” that popped out is that neither of these has much to do with theological concepts, church affiliation,  ritual or any of the other “churchy” things we often focus on (as important and essential as these matters may be).  These commandments have to do primarily with the same thing any love story has, i.e., spending TIME with the beloved and growing a bonded relationship.

To love God means to spend time with God, i.e., time in prayer, time getting to know God, time in merely sitting in silence with God.  Likewise, to love my neighbor requires that I spend time with him or her, and seeking to know them at a deep level and striving to meet their needs.  Such love is not an emotion or a ritual.  It is a real-life relationship that can only be found by spending time in togetherness.

So, could you spend some time this week examining what loving God and loving your neighbor looks like in your life?  How might you shift the way you have practiced these two commandments?  Do you have the time?

Blessings and peace,

Chaplain Allen
chaplain@nationsu.edu
chaplainscorner.org

Read more reflections, The Domestic Church

The Chaplain’s Corner provides compassionate support to the students of NationsUniversity and to the seriously ill, distressed and disrupted, especially those who are in remote or otherwise isolated communities. Our Chaplain does this by coming along side via the Internet. We seek to graciously help a fallen world stand up again.