greatest commandment

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

What would it be like to love God with all of my mind? Probably it would involve lots of conscious praise and worship, and certainly being very careful to only dwell on things that are pleasing to Him. (You know, the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, praiseworthy, excellent stuff ala Phil 4:8)

Moreover, it would involve something akin to Brother Lawrence's practice of God's presence, doing everything (EVERYTHING) out of love for God. Peeling potatoes out of love for God. Getting on the bus out of love for God. Straightening my hair out of love for God. Going to bed before 2 AM out of love for God.

(Or maybe God wouldn't have me straighten my hair for Him at all. Kind of vain. But he might let me anyway, because he's so gracious, and if I tried to do it out of love for Him I bet it would make Him smile.)

Anyway, when I think about stuff like living according to the first commandment, I don't have a hard time imagining what it might be like. And in my imagination, it's pretty awesome. Living by the Spirit, buddy-buddy with God all the time, super-Holy-Spirit-power for resisting sin, hearing the voice behind me saying "This is the way, walk in it."

Thing is, I've got no discipline. And a very sinful heart. And the loving, motherly control-freak helper in me wants to boil it down into simple steps that a dunce like me could maybe follow:

1. Wake up in the morning, and sing songs of praise right away. Leave a post-it on the alarm clock so you don't forget and snooze too long. Take an extra few minutes to pray about the day's schedule.
2. Read the Bible over a bowl of oatmeal and cup of tea. You'll be glad you did.
3. Write 3x5 cards and post-its of all the great, inspiring, convicting Bible verses you want to learn. If you see them every time you look in the mirror/kitchen cabinet/trunk of the car, they'll surely sink in eventually.
4. Have a negative thought? Make up for it by counting at least three to six blessings.
5. Count some more blessings: you'll feel happy and God will feel like you're appreciative.
6. Act like a Christian should. If a Christian shouldn't do it, neither should you. No lying, cheating, gossiping, lusting, or manipulating, and non-holy-word swearing is only allowed in pre-screened company and only for the expression of the strongest feelings.
7. Pray some more. Pray constantly. Don't just think, think in the presence of God. Keep part of your heart always, always worshiping. Monitor this.
   
8. Find the good in everything and remember how lucky you are. If you stub your toe, be thankful you have a toe to stub and a nervous system that can relay sensations to your brain and a brain that can interpret the pain. See? It was a blessing after all.
   

...I just realized I'm perseverating. Sorry. (Yes, I live with that in my head ALL THE TIME.)

Anyway, sometimes it's hard to remember that loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength isn't about doing what I think I should do. It's not about the rules or non-rules or perceived rules or general Christian guidelines. God is not an idea of holiness or righteousness. He's not an ideal. God is the I AM, a Person, a Being. He's relational. And He is a Living Holiness, a Living Righteousness, a Living Ideal, a Living Love.

I may have to fall back on doing things because I should, but those shoulds only exist to catapult me back into loving, Loving, LOVING my Jesus.

I don't want to honor Him because I should this week.

I want to honor Him because HE IS.