When I look back on my life, I see so much beauty, but I also cannot help but see a path paved with all the times I let God down. All the times I chose “me” and not “Him.” I know now that I was not living the greatest commandment. I didn’t realize it back then when I headed out on my journey in life. I don’t even think I knew the greatest commandment. I knew I loved God. But, did I love Him with “all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind? If I did, I would have always chosen “Him” over “Me” and not the other way around.
My mother’s passing away when I was only 13 catapulted me on a search to find love. I just wanted to be loved. But I didn’t want to be loved by just anyone, and I didn’t want just any kind of love. Nothing was ever like the love my mother gave me. My mother gave me the kind of love you felt deep down all throughout your being, and you knew you were loved. I wanted to have that love back. I did finally get it. It was when I wasn’t even looking. It felt like an answered prayer. It came out of the blue like a lightning bolt of supercharged love striking straight from the heavens right into my heart and soul. Haha, maybe it was cupids arrow. That ended up being the kind of love where I not only felt entirely and thoroughly loved but where I felt entirely and thoroughly in love. Ahhh, finally, I was on the threshold of where I was meant to be.
Alas, through my life experience, and it took quite a while, I have learned that above everything else is God’s love. God’s love is perfect, and being perfect, He perfectly loves. I wish I knew about the greatest commandment and what it means. I wish I truly understood this commandment of loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. It really means loving Him more than yourself. but it is in loving Him more than yourself that you are loving yourself more than you ever could. For He is the only one who truly knows you like no other. He created you, and He knows what is best for you to live a life of eternal bliss, not here on earth, but in the home that he prepared for you. He is the only one that will never abandon or hurt you.
Living that love for Him will bring you the greatest joy. After all…He is God, your creator, the master of your ship. He comes first. How many times I have put myself first before God. My wants, my desires, my feelings. When you put Him first, all good things will follow. Look at the rainbow below. The greatest commandment is like that rainbow, and at the end of the rainbow is the pot of gold which is the joy found in living the commandment. It is perfect and priceless.
Pretend you are on a fork in the road. You can choose the path that forks to the left that looks so beautiful and is filled with everything you enjoy. Your eyes behold the shining, radiant sun in the blue sky, flowers blooming alongside glistening lakes, streams, waterfalls, lush greenery, and majestic mountains; there may be a rocky road beyond yonder. Still, you don’t even think of that because you are so taken in by the beauty of the road on the left. Or you can choose the road that forks to the right, where you see lots of gravel, rocks, and obstacles. Dark clouds hover in a threatening sky. There is some light far away about to break through the clouds, and it looks like the sky may be clearing, but as far as the eye can see, it seems like a challenging hike. You can’t see it, but there may be a stream over yonder where you can find refreshment, but you just don’t know.
What path would you choose? Before you decide, remember that Adam and Eve lived in paradise. God had set the beautiful garden, like the road I described above, before them in a Garden, and it was filled with everything good. But in that perfect paradise, there was temptation. The temptation to not listen to God but to do what they wanted to do. Oh, how good that apple looked to Adam and Eve. God, forbid them to eat it. He told them to enjoy everything before them, but they could touch nor eat that apple, or they would die. Then came the serpent who told them to eat it. Things are not always as they seem, and it is much better to follow God than temptation. Why should they choose not to eat something that seemed so pleasing? They could not understand why God would not want them to eat something so pleasing. Something to ponder this Lent. That whole story of the Garden of Eden is chock full of lessons and could certainly create a few more blog posts.
Now here is the thing. We just cannot just unabashedly run to the path. Before going down any path, before moving forward from where we stand, we need to pray to God for guidance. We need to be conversing with Him to choose the right path. If we are living the first commandment, that will come very naturally. If we are not, we most likely will choose the beautiful path, but right now, it might not be the path to take. Is that what God wants? Many things need to be considered. Will that path bring me closer to God? Will that path enable me to follow Him better? Or do I not care? Am I just too excited to rush off to the beauty I see before me on the left, only to be disappointed and hurt and with no consolation? Sometimes we know we should not take the path, but then it is too appealing, like the apple, and think…well, wouldn’t God want me to take that path as it is so pleasing? If we realize we have taken the wrong path, we can still cross through the thickets to the other side after turning to God and begging for his help through the pain. That is the only answer to the disappointments and pain in life. To turn to God. It is only there that you will find consolation through His healing mercy.
My point here is if you choose the rocky path, it doesn’t mean it will not be filled with beauty. It will be. If you choose the beautiful path, it doesn’t mean it will not be filled with pain. But if we choose the path because we put the greatest commandment first and are following God, the path we choose will be the right one. Every path is hard, but with God, it is made easier. Any path you choose can be full of unexpected, unwanted surprises but listen to your heart…if it is following God, you will know. So even when surprises pop up like crazy, Uncle George jumping out of the bushes shouting yum yum, eat um up 😂, well, you will be able to not allow it to destroy your paradise because God will help you..
The right path would be the one you decide after prayer and feeling God’s guidance to move forward. Always remember, Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Him. Jesus doesn’t deceive us. He doesn’t lie to us; He is honest with us. He wants us to deny ourselves and follow Him. He doesn’t want us to do this so that we are burdened; no, Jesus tells us this because He loves us, and He shows His love when He expresses that love by telling us, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” So if you are a follower living the greatest commandment, even though you did not see a stream up yonder, you know it is there. While the path may seem challenging and will definitely be with struggles, Jesus is helping us. He will give us rest; there will be plenty of streams, and we can be assured all will turn out well as long as we follow Him. Have you ever hiked, and the journey up the mountain was challenging? Then you finally get to the summit, and the beauty and joy are indescribable? The struggle got you there. All our struggles on earth will get us there. Even the struggles that come on the beautiful path. Just follow him.
Choose the right path, the one that God calls you to. Both will be beautiful, and both will be a struggle. You will need to deny yourself and pick up your cross every step of the way, but by doing this and following Him, it will lead you to that beautiful place He created for those who love Him. That place of lush greenery, sunshine, and everything beautiful, but without the pain and heartache, only love, peace, and joy.
Jesus is the one person who will never let you down and who will lead you to everlasting life. May we always choose his path and follow Him.