Monday's Marriage Moment -- You Only Have One Job!

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
-Matthew 22: 37 - 40

I love looking at those "you only had one job" memes. Have you seen them? They show funny things like someone creating a Coke display under a Pepsi sign, or someone who paints the word school on a crosswalk and spells it "shcool". As funny as these picture are, today I am reminded how serious the one job we have as Christians is. God has given us this one job of loving -- loving him and loving others. It sounds so simple, but our world today makes it seem so hard. Over the past few months alone, I have seen people hurt those that they profess to love. I have seen dissolution of ministries in public and distasteful ways. I have seen abuse and intimidation from those who should love and cover. I have seen hate, anger, strife, abuse, and pride. Yet, we still only have one job.

God asks us -- no requires and expects us -- to love. He puts no stipulations or conditions on it. He says love Him and love others...period. It sounds so easy, but it certainly requires great faith and denial of self. I must love. You must love, and it can't be dependent upon what others do or don't do. That means we will have to accept some apologies that we will never receive, go the extra mile for those who may not do the same for us, and choose to give grace even when it is hard. Love covers. Love keeps. Love bears all things. Love believes the best.

There is no place that this love gets tested like it does at home. After all, the bible says that love begins at home and spreads abroad. We must forgive our spouses. We must treat them like we want to be treated. We must show kindness and grace. We must speak kindly to them and about them. We must love.

I pray this week that you make sure that you love not just in your words but in your actions as well. Take great steps of faith this week to extend peace and grace where there may have been anger and resentment. Sit in the presence of the God of love, and then allow His love to flow through you onto others.