The Finale commandment

​The Finale Commandment!
Loving others doesn’t always come easy. We could probably all agree that some people are almost impossible to love. I once heard it said, “I love that person just enough to get into heaven,” but that is not what Jesus said. Jesus tells us that loving others is not an option; it’s an obligation! Jesus says, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Jesus said these words to his disciples at the Last Supper. This command to love one another was not a new concept; it first appeared back in the book of Leviticus. But the disciples saw a whole new way to love others. Jesus taught them in and through His life and death to love others sacrificially. Jesus’ way was the way of the cross.
To love sacrificially commands us to go beyond the ordinary ways of helping people. It requires that we be willing to be inconvenienced and help anyone who has a need we can meet. It requires us to be ready to share the best of what we have, not just the old “junk” we no longer want or need. It requires us to be prepared to sacrifice something we value. So did the way of the cross! Friends, that kind of sacrificial love will draw others to Jesus and Glorify God because this selfish world rarely sees it and desperately needs it. So, strive to live out the final commandment and “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:2).” That kind of love will bless you and Glorify God!
Onward and Upward!
Fr. Greg+

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