JOY

The greatest commandment encompasses so much and is the perfect message. Matthew wrote down Christ’s proclamation to the Pharisees as they challenged the Son of God looking to have Him trip up. In chapter 22 of the book of Matthew it is written:

[Jesus] “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

This is the perfect representation of the word joy. Years ago my good friend Pastor Doug Webb did a series on JOY; Jesus, Others and You. There is JOY in this verse and when you realize the importance of the acronym, there will be joy in your heart.

Love the Lord with all you are and with your entirety. This does not mean love Him and praise Him on Sunday and Holy Holidays but rather love Him completely, 24/7, in thought, deed and presence. God rejoices in you every second of the day, do you reciprocate? Jesus came to earth to be amongst us. He came willingly and lovingly (see John 3:16-16). His message is one of perfect grace and forgiveness for all mankind and all He asks in return is to trust in Him and Him alone.

Love your neighbours, all of them, those who drop by for coffee every day and those who flip you the bird in rush hour traffic. Love them all because all others are just as much God’s children as you are. By the way, you and I are not easily loved by every person in the world. We have our detractors and, while it would be nice not to have any enemies, we all do but if they were to love us as we would love them, maybe this too could change. Love others more than they love you.

Finally, love yourself. The world stresses self and says you are not perfect unless you look and act a certain way. Guess what, God is perfect and He does not create junk. We are all wonderfully created in His image and that image is one of love. Love Jesus, love others and love yourself the way Christ loves; agape!

Sunday we celebrate JOY. If you can’t be here to join us in the celebration of JOY, you can click on the Message Online tab on our website at www.mainavefellowship.blogspot.ca to hear the service online.

Shalom Aleichem

Pastor Todd