The Most Excellent Way (con't)

Last night, it was so easy to sit and really get comfortable, but hard to stay still! I always have my pen and paper handy, but since I get to bring Lynnie along with me on this particular journey, I hadn't been reading for long before I had an 'aha moment' and had to share it with her. Bless her, she has already had these same epiphanies, but she celebrates them with me as if it were something totally new.

So about my aha moment: Jerry brings several key points of the Bible together in chapter 3. In the first chapter, he likened loving God to the first 3 of Moses' 10 commandments. And it is a truly accurate statement to say that if you love God obediently, on purpose, that you can not help but to follow the first 3 commandments. If you love God, you will not put others before Him. If you love God, you will not use His name in vain. If you love God, you will not build up false idols to worship. In chapter 2, he discusses the new commandment that Jesus gave, and that is to love your brother as you love yourself. The remaining 7 commandments cover that nicely: if you love your brother, you won't lie, murder, covet, etc. I have always had problems with the verse (forgive me for being foggy on it's location) that tells us that if you keep all the laws, but fall short in one area, then you are guilty of all. Thanks to Jerry's insight on how the commandments Jesus gave apply, it finally dawned on me. It really doesn't matter whether I kill you or lie to you, either way, I have failed to love you, and that is God's will. Aha! That's how God sees all sin as equal! It is not that we are just failing to be honest, or that we envy. His point was that we aren't loving each other as He loved us, as He commands us to love!

I am quite thrilled with myself to have finally figured out what the Lord was telling us when He said all sin is equal in his eyes. And it truly makes a difference in how I see not only Scripture, but how I see my own actions. And love IS an action. The human emotion of love is not rational, but God's definition is inerrant. Every phrase he uses to define love takes a conscious effort on our part. We must be kind. We must be patient. We must be honest; we must not be rude. So, as Dr. Corbaley's book has helped me to realize, every day, in every action, we make the choice whether to love or not to love. And with practice, that action will become habit. It is a habit I strive to learn, and I am very thankful to have someone to help me in my struggles (that's you, Lynnie!). It is very spiritually and mentally fulfilling to have so many questions answered. I look forward yet again to delving deeper into my studies on God's Greatest Commandment.

Side note: I made it through chapter 3 last night, and Jerry did go further into explaining human love versus God's love, but I don't have my notes in front of me, and I do not want to muddle his fabulous commentary on those very human emotions. Humans are such silly creatures!

The Most Excellent Way

I started Jerry Corbaley's book, The Most Excellent Way, last night. There are times when you pick up a book, and then there are times when the books picks you. The latter is the case with this book.

It's not often that I choose to re-read selections of a book to get all the possible meanings from them. I have found myself making so many notes on this book, just so I am sure to not forget anything. Jerry's main theme is that 'without love, I am an annoying nobody who gains nothing.' God's greatest commandment to us was to love. Jerry's calling out Christians here, reminding us that to love Him with all our hearts, all our souls and all our minds will take all our time. After reading that particular statement, I guffawed. Really?! ALL my time? Who expects that kind of commitment? But when you look at it from the aspect of Christ, who literally came all the way down here, just to be tortured to death to save us, spending all my time and energy loving Him should be the least I can do, right?

I am blessed during my reading and studying of this book that I have nearly unlimited access to Jerry's wife, my dear friend Lynn. I get to pick her brain, and thus his. We talked last night about what kind of love God wants from us. She referred to the definition of love found in 1 Cor. My response to that was that surely that is not enough. Jerry gives a simplified explanation of applying this love to God, and it just seems, well, too easy. But in practice, I think nothing is harder. And it's not just that we should love Him. If we are not decidedly in love with God, we are sinning against Him. And we should confess that shortcoming and seek forgiveness. Try praying to the creator of everything and apologizing for not loving Him enough. Talk about a humbling experience. Wow.

So, having only made it through the preface and chapter one last night, I look forward to continuing my study on this book. I am forever grateful that my dear Lynnie is my guide through this. Thank you. You and Jerry are in my prayers, as I know I am in yours. <3