Mark 12:29-31

“The first and most important [commandment] is this,” Jesus replied,  ” ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength’. The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. No other commandment is greater than these.”

No other commandment is greater than “these”.  These means loving God and loving those whom God has created, you and the not-you’s.  The greatest force on earth is love.  Martin Luther King said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”  With the power of love, you and I can drive out darkness, drive out hate, and drive out fear.

It starts with realizing that you and I were created by love, in love, to love.  God loved us first (1 John 4:19) and loves us fiercely.  Nothing either you or I can do will separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:31-39).  When we believe this, we operate from a place of strength and acceptance, and we can love those who are the not-you’s.  May we be filled with the power and depth of love, and may we use it to change the world, one moment, one act, one prayer at a time.