"Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’" Matthew 22:37
It seems like there are a lot of things in life these days that are optional. Driving through my neighborhood each day it seems like the 30mph speed limit is mostly optional. Recently I was at a movie where one of the movie goers decided talking on your self phone during a movie was optional. It seems that more and more things in life are becoming optional.
I love the words of Jesus. In what is known as The Great Commandment, Jesus does not give options. If you want to follow God, you must love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. There's no other option. There's no fallback position upon which to rely. You either love God with everything you have or you don't.
This Sunday we will start a new message series entitled 5 Marks. It is inspired by a little book titled "The Five Marks of a Methodist" by Dr. Steve Harper. The first of these marks is that a Methodist loves God. It's not optional for us. God is the Creator of everything seen and unseen. God is the One to whom we owe our very existence. In a world where God is relegated to a distant place in most people's lives, we Methodists love God.
I hope you will join us this Sunday as we begin the discussion. May we better understand and more faithfully follow the command of Jesus, "you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." See you in church.