Hugs and Gratitude

Hugs and Gratitude

In an earlier article, I wrote about how we need to draw back from the world. I received a comment on the article which warned of the dangers becoming isolated from the world.

“I would say this has a lot of truth to it, but it is very easy to become a hypocrite when are so separated from the "Worldly" people that we no longer fill any compassion for the "World". We have to remember that Gods greatest command was to love our neighbor as ourselves.” – Anonymous

I appreciate time and effort someone put into this comment and all the comments that have been made in reply to my articles on the Kings Academy blog because they help me and others to see a more refined message.

Sadly, it is easy to become isolated from the needs of others. When we lived for years in a suburb with people all around us, we barely knew any neighbors. When we did eventually reach out to them, they reacted to us as if we were suspicious strangers. (I guess we were.) And, too many times, I’ve been guilty of the hypocrisy of talking about the right thing more than actually doing the right thing. Whether we live in a crowd or in some lonely mountain pass, we can still choose to set our heart on self or on God and others. Isolation in religion with lack of love for those trapped in the world is choosing a focus on Self. Alternatively, having many friends and people activities without genuinely caring about their needs and without any sincere desire to know God better is -- focus on Self.

We don't have to look far to find where wrong values lead. A father was showing picutres of his wedding to his young son. The boy asked, "Is that when mother came to work for us?" How many times has my bride felt the same way?

Let's draw back from the fire of selfish desire, back from the world’s values which put possessions, popularity and power ahead of love filled relationships with our God and neighbors. As commanded in Romans 12, let's lay our body on the altar of sacrifice to God and embrace God’s values as revealed in His greatest commandments. Start by spending a few minutes looking into the mirror of God's Word and then find someone to encourage. Maybe give your spouse an extra hug, express some gratitude and listen to their heart.

"What commandment is the foremost of all?" Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND 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.' "The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."