“Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Mat. 22: 37-39)
How can we love what is true? Love God. How can we love what is most important? Love God. How can we love Life Itself? Love God. And how can we love our neighbor as our self, by first loving our true self? Love God, for both we and our neighbor are made in God’s Image and Likeness. It is all a matter of love, but to receive the ability to love, we must touch love first, reach out to love first, and connect with God as love first, for as the Beloved St. John said, “God is love.”
We think in small ways, so small that we can’t even know the first step on our journey towards love. But it is not hard. It is not complicated. It is not confusing. It is simple.
When we ask, really ask with yearning to receive. When we seek, really seek for something most precious, most dear, and most near. When we knock, knock like we know that Someone is listening and ready to open the door with all the spiritual treasures of Heaven and earth.
When we do this, Christ Who is waiting, Who is listening, Who is ready, will give of Himself to us, for He is Love Itself! O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us! Amen.
The Monastics at St. Isaac of Syria Skete
and at the Convent of St. Silouan
and the Faithful at St. Nicholas Church
and the Staff at Orthodox Byzantine Icons and St. Isaac’s Bookstore.