Love God With All Your Heart

Loving God with all my heart seems easy.  He has blessed me with so much love in my life.  But am I loving God with all my heart when I feel worthless inside?  When I fail and sadness sets in?  When guilt over things I cannot control cause unrest? No, I am not loving Him with all my heart because He lives within me.  Within all of us.  How can we love Him completely without loving ourselves?  Luckily, the boxing match in my head doesn't occur very often anymore.  But when it does, I pray. The evil one is sleeplessly watchful for a moment to draw us into self-doubt.  Remember, even when life goes awry and the future appears dismal, focus on this day, this hour, this minute.  Stop and thank God for His unending love.  And, give yourself a break.


Today's Gospel (Mark 12:28-34), one of the scribes asks Jesus which commandment is the greatest of them all.  Here is His response:

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.

Do you see the recurring theme in every word Jesus ever spoke?  Love.  Love God. Love ourselves.  Love our neighbor. It's that simple. 

In Volume Three, God the Father gives us this gentle warning:

"True happiness can be found only in the union of a soul’s will to the Divine Will. When your will is united to the Divine Will, there is no conflict, no struggle. Only a very few find such union on earth. The seeking of this union is the path to holiness that you follow in your obedience to My commandments. You are making decisions. You are moving forward along the road. You are making corrections. This is the process. At times in the history of mankind, most souls on earth were moving in the general direction of heaven. At this time, most souls are languishing along the way. Many are wasting their time on earth and are not coming in this direction at all. In this way, souls are lost. As a God of mercy, I send all manner of signs and warnings. In this time, however, most of My signs are being ignored. Such is the level of distraction, that My souls no sooner see a sign and experience My call, then they allow themselves to be distracted and pulled back into the world. Children, pay attention. You must focus on Me and on your path."

What can you do today to show God you love Him by loving yourself?  Since this is the third Friday in Lent and a day of fasting, show Him your love by eating less or skipping a meal (unless pregnant, etc.). Replace the meal with prayer. Or, if you are in need of exercise, take a walk.  Just do something for your own good and for your love of God.

Thank you, Lord, for pulling me up by the bootstraps when I am down, reminding me that loving myself means loving You.  

God bless,

Bonnie