The Two Commandments

Jesus told us that there are two commandments that sum up all the law and the prophets. We all know what they are. First, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Second, to love your neighbor as yourself. ("Updated" in the New Testament to "love your neighbor as I have loved you.") And, by the way, everyone is your neighbor. Yes, everyone. But how do I do those two things? After all, there are times in my life when it doesn't appear that God is too much in love with me. And there are certainly times when loving my "neighbor" is not high on my list of priorities. Yet, God doesn't ever stop loving me. His love is active moment by moment throughout my entire life. If I can't sense His love in my circumstances, it's because I'm walking by sight and not by faith. I'm evaluating things in the present tense and not in the light of eternity. And if my neighbor doesn't seem to be worthy of my love right at the moment; in reality, he or she have never been more in need of it. How can they know what unconditional love is until I love them unconditionally? It's the fact that they have needs that makes them my neighbor in desperate need of loving actions.
So, how do I keep the two commandments? Solomon puts it in simple language that I think we all can understand. "Rejoice and do good." When I love God with my whole being, I never doubt His will, His wisdom. or His love. No matter what happens I rejoice in who He is! I know that His will will result in my good and His glory. I know that His wisdom will make all things in my life a source of delight when I view them from eternity with Him. I know that His love is inescapable. And when I love my neighbor as He loves me, all I can do for him is good. And doing evil--and doing nothing can be the most insidious evil--is the farthest thing from my mind. Why? Because I know that as I do whatever I do for the least of mankind, I'm really doing it for my Savior. It doesn't even matter if my neighbor knows what good was done for him. My Savior knows, smiles, and leans down from heaven to whisper in my soul, "Thank you."

The two commandments. We fulfill them with joy in our hearts and goodness in our actions--every moment of every day everywhere we find ourselves.