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“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Jesus in this passage gives us a light in a dark place, a bright and shiny program, a new deal, a social-engineering experiment that would, if it were followed, change the world. It is sweeping in its scope. Exact in its detail. In short, it is a game-changer, a colossal catalyst for child protection, race-relations, marital health, poverty alleviation and anything else, old or new, that the world can throw at us.
It's love.
More than a program or a policy, a platform or a ten-year plan, it is love, times three:
The Love of God.
The love of Neighbor.
The love of Self.
And as I look back on these past thirty-eight weeks of Sabbath, I have grown in my love of God. I have a long way to go, but I'm learning to trust God more as I take a step back from life lived by my own strength.
I'm learning to love myself...rediscovering the self God intended me to be. I'm far from perfect in this area, but I've taken time to go kayaking and do some writing. I have reconnected with some good friends and with our boys and it has been great.
But my nearest neighbor has been neglected. It isn't that we haven't spent time together. We have spent every day and tons of quality time together. Together, we are a formidable team. Together we are logistical contortionists. But together we are two ships passing in the night...my wife and I side by side and a high five out the door. In our Sabbaths, we have connected with the boys, connected with God, connected with friends, but we just haven't connected as husband and wife.
Love is fragile. We see it in Bethlehem's hay.
In fact, the last "date" we went on was a school fundraiser that ended up in our car hitting a telephone pole that had fallen into the street...long story. I've dropped the ball. I used to be better. Candles. Romantic dinners. Maybe I've taken the strength of our relationship for granted. Maybe I've let our relationship become largely functional because we are both highly functional. But love is more than function, it's fun and it is the fun side of the island that I hope to rediscover...walks on the beach, quaint cantinas, and quiet strolls by the marina. It will be tough. We live in Kansas, but I have a couple of days to plan. And it will probably change the world.
But my nearest neighbor has been neglected. It isn't that we haven't spent time together. We have spent every day and tons of quality time together. Together, we are a formidable team. Together we are logistical contortionists. But together we are two ships passing in the night...my wife and I side by side and a high five out the door. In our Sabbaths, we have connected with the boys, connected with God, connected with friends, but we just haven't connected as husband and wife.
Love is fragile. We see it in Bethlehem's hay.
In fact, the last "date" we went on was a school fundraiser that ended up in our car hitting a telephone pole that had fallen into the street...long story. I've dropped the ball. I used to be better. Candles. Romantic dinners. Maybe I've taken the strength of our relationship for granted. Maybe I've let our relationship become largely functional because we are both highly functional. But love is more than function, it's fun and it is the fun side of the island that I hope to rediscover...walks on the beach, quaint cantinas, and quiet strolls by the marina. It will be tough. We live in Kansas, but I have a couple of days to plan. And it will probably change the world.
Church stopping. Less doing. More being.
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