Love tanks: full or empty?

Mark 12: 28 - 34

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength....

You shall love your neighbour as yourself.

A most familiar passage that even Sunday School children have memorized. And so have many of us. But to live out its implications would take a lifetime of learning to walk by the Spirit and not in the flesh. I recently heard about a teacher for kids with learning difficulties who has not been treating a number of children and parents well. It is not anything openly 'abusive' but there is the tendency to give the kid a hard time and make unhelpful and discouraging remarks to the parent. Why do people offer sacrifices of their time and effort, as in such a labor intensive ministry and then act so unlovingly?

The scribe answered Jesus that to love God...and to love one's neighbor.....is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And Jesus saw that he had answered wisely. It is surely true that God expects more than just the 'sacrifice' of our time and effort. Sometimes, we think it is enough that we offer those to him in ministry. But where does love of God and neighbor come in? Sad to say, there are so many in Christian ministry who do not give the impression that they know God's love. Nor are they able to share it with those around them.

This is truly sad because the world is looking for something different from what it is used to. I'm sure even those who are not 'religious' would really sit up and take note - if only Christians demonstrate a love that is not only superficially sacrifical - but one that goes beyond every boundary.

It may sound like yet another tedious commandment to 'follow'. But it is not really something we can achieve on our own. It is well known that those who demonstrate the kind of love towards God and others that is described here are those who have themselves constantly asked for and received reminders of how much God loves them.

The level of our 'love tanks' do go down, sometimes rapidly, in this fallen world we live in. Have you and I allowed God enough time today....and everyday..... to pour his love into our hearts by his Spirit? The Great Commandment is one which God's part as Source of Love is even more crucial than ours. Yes, we shall love God... we shall love our neighbor.....only because God first loved us.