Happy Thursday!

Well, I have joined the ranks of the “mall walkers.” Each day after class I drive back to Arlington, change my shoes, plug in my headphones and go for a walk in the mall. I used to smile when I would see these gray/white haired folks in their tennis shoes stepping it around the mall, and now I am one. But I am really enjoying the time between class and home. It sort of helps me clear my head and prep for the afternoon of studying ahead ( and I walk pretty quickly so I am getting some good cardio of my own!)

Prayer: “Father I want to experience Your love today. I know that my ability to love is based on the fact that You loved me first. Help me to receive and experience Your love so that it can flow through me to other people. Help me not to love just a little, I want to learn to love You big—to love You with all I am and have. Amen.”

Luke 10: 25-27 “Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all you soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

This scripture passage sort of reminds me of my scholastic life right now. My teachers often lead discussions using this method. This practice of answering questions with other questions is a way of engaging students in discussion. In seminary I have discovered that class conversations between students and professors are not just to check for academic understanding (right answers), but for individual spiritual reflection.

Jesus was not necessarily looking for the “academic answer” when Jesus asked the question, “What is your reading of it?” Jesus does not want to know what the scripture says for he already knows the passage by heart. Jesus wants to know how this man of law interprets this passage and puts it into practice in his own life. Jesus is not asking for the right answer but looking for right living in this man.
Does this apply to us today? Oh, yes! We can give right answers all day long, but sometimes we have a little trouble living out the reality of the truth. Jesus reminds us in this passage that our top priority in every aspect of our lives should be love. Very simply God wants us to love with every ounce of our being! When we love with this measure we begin to see others the way God sees them. Even those souls we find hard to love, we can still begin to see them as God loves them. This is the kind of love we need go show to others in our life. So today as we go about our daily lives ask God to help us to step into His likeness and show love to all we meet.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.