Not For January 4, 2019

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ 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.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  (Mark 12:29-31, ESV)

A Post-it message on the mirror.  An unexpected morning Starbucks.  A single flower on the windshield.  All these things are quick little surprises that remind your wife you love, and are in love with them.  But what I have discovered from the 20 years of marriage, is that as important as these out-of-the-blue surprises are, for Kristi it is not so much what I purchase as what I do day in and day out.  Do I help with the laundry without being asked?  Is the trash taken out before it overflows on the floor?  How much clutter do I allow to NOT pile up on my end of the kitchen table?

As a Christian I am to love God with all my heart, mind, and soul.  I can show this love with my tithes and offerings.  Spending time in corporate worship, prayer, and Bible are all demonstrations of my love for Him.  But what about those times when I am not consciously focused on Him?  Do those thousands of decisions I make each day reflect my feelings for the Lord my God?

My love for God is not just demonstrated during the "God times", but also by how I spend the hours away from my Bible and prayer closet. 

Do I treat others in a way that demonstrate my love for Him?  What about the books I read or how I spend my downtime?  Every decision I make each day reflect my love, or lack thereof, my love for my Heavenly Father. 

Love is shown not by what we do for, but by what we do because of.  God doesn't need us to do things for Him, but because of our love for Him.