I have heard this before. After all, if it is the greatest commandment, then it makes sense to learn this decree first and foremost. There are even songs which state these exact words so that I may not forget the exact Scripture. But right now, I am looking at it in Francis Chan's Crazy Love and after reading only the Scripture itself, I think to myself, "What does it mean to really love with all of your HEART, MIND, SOUL, and STRENGTH?" Many times it gets all glooped up into one big, big "L", Love and I am able to know and recognize it as such. On God's end. Because he IS Love."And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and 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.”-Mark 12:30-31
But on my end, I am commanded to love Him, exhibit it, actively feel and do this intangible sentiment and action. But I know that my love for Him is imperfect, and many times I will love with my heart but not with my strength or soul or mind, purely emotion based. Other times I am in love with his truth and the heavenly knowledge He imparts upon us, but once again, the others are lacking. I think that where I lack the most in this shredded imitation of God's perfect love is strength. On many accounts, I find missing the substance of what supports this faith of mine, the tenacity and deliberation that it takes to do what i say and mean what i say. If I were taking an Apparition test, I know I would fail because the drive would not be there to twist my body through thin air to arrive with certainty at a destination. It would be more probable that I splinched myself because I changed my mind halfway through. In the same way, I talk the talk and don't walk the walk. If I am reborn, transformed by God, then I am His and He is mine, and I desire to cling onto that with every fiber of my being. And love Him with a strength of ten thousand lions. If lions are considered to be strong that is.
And as a result, I am to actively love upon my neighbor, His people, that gentle but ever-present being that surrounds the person at nearly every moment of life. I think that sometimes I do never stop actively loving his people. Where I struggle is actively loving the same person. Like with homework, it is easy to flit from task to task from person to person based on the ease of being able to love them. But where then is the depth? Where is the deep personal interaction that defines pure relationship? And I see where that has been accepted by some that I will yes, agree to love on them easily, but not deeply. And I can't argue with them. So, thanks to Mark. I have seen where my sinful self has failed even the first and most important commandment set by our Holy Father, and am so glad that He has set the example so I can chase it, hopefully and God-willing with ALL OF MY STRENGTH because He is worth my meager strength. SO worth it.
