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The Greatest Commandment
Christopher Reeve made news recently by regaining some movement and sensation in his hands and feet seven years after a horse-riding accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. This progress didn't just happen; he worked hard to achieve it through intensive physical therapy.
I have long admired his determination and mental attitude. But what really caught my attention in this article was something he was quoted as saying: "To be able to feel just the lightest touch is really a gift. The fact is that even if your body doesn't work the way it used to, the heart and the mind and the spirit are not diminished. It's as simple as that." (Emphasis mine).
His words struck a chord because of something Jesus said: "'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." (Matthew 22:37).
We think of loving God in terms of "doing" for Him. Yet here is a paralyzed man-unable to do anything-assuring us that his heart, mind, and soul are intact. And if they are, then he is able to fully obey the first and greatest commandment ...
I've been pondering that. Maybe loving God is not so much what we do for Him, but rather what we allow Him to do for us-in us and through us. I'm not suggesting that we sit around and do nothing. I'm thinking more along the lines of accepting and even embracing all the circumstances of our lives-whatever they may be-as coming from His hand, designed according to His will.
A friend once drew a dot on a paper and said, "This is you." Then he drew a circle around the dot. "This is God," he continued, "Nothing can touch you without first having to go through God."
If we see every circumstance as "pre-approved" by God for a reason and a purpose, it may help us to accept it and remain flexible, moldable-like clay in His hands. Granted, some of our circumstances are of our own making, but I believe God can and does work even through our terrible mistakes for our ultimate good. Otherwise, not all things would work together for our good as the Bible assures us. We are His workmanship; and circumstances-good and bad-are the tools He uses to mold us into His likeness. Perhaps even the circumstances we enjoy the least are the ones most useful to Him-it is friction that develops the diamond and fire that purifies the gold.
Maybe loving God is an attitude of the heart, the mind, and the soul that says: I will receive whatever circumstance You send my way, fully believing that it was Your love that allowed it in my life. And rather than fight it, resent it, or try to get out of it, I will seek Your guidance, trusting You to provide the strength, the wisdom, the patience, and the love I will need to get through it until You see fit to remove it.
As we closely walk with Him in every aspect and circumstance of our lives, we'll learn to think like Him, act like Him, be like Him ... We'll learn to love with heart, mind, and soul... Just like Him.
-Maria Lund