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The Collect for this coming Sunday, the Fifth Sunday in Lent… "Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever."
I found the statement, "…to love what you command" an interesting statement and thought-provoking. What does it mean to love what Jesus commands? We know that a command is more than a suggestion or a recommendation rather a command is just that, a command, a directive that is to be followed. I am reminded of when I was a little boy how much I hated to eat peas. My mother would spoon those little green round vegetables on my plate to my chagrin and you know what? I had to eat them. I was in a sense, commanded to eat them and I certainly did not love that I had no choice but to eat those peas.
What would it mean though, to love what we are commanded to do? As Christians, the basics of Christ's teachings boil down to the two great commandments. We hear them every Sunday. The first is to love God and the second is to love others (Matthews 22:37-40). How do we do that?
The first way is to actively work on our relationship with God, to learn how to love God more, and to spend time cultivating our relationship with the creator. We can do this through prayer, committing to participating in corporate worship, and making an intentional effort to live a life that follows God's teaching.
Secondly, is to love others. That means that we learn to love offering kindness and mercy to everyone around us as much as we can. We learn how to do this by offering our time to those who are in need, learning how and entering the process of forgiveness, and perhaps one of the most difficult, is learning to love our enemies.
We cannot view our walk with Jesus as always instantaneous. Following Jesus is a journey that takes time, change, and help from the Holy Spirit and is filled with ups and downs. Take time to find where God is helping you to grow to love the Commands he has given us. Take time to see where God is using you and allow yourself time to grow in the Lord. There is no better time to go deeper in our relationship with Christ than right now as we prepare to walk with Jesus as he heads towards the Cross to forever change the future of the world and indeed, our future today.
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