“Love as if your eternity depends on it.”

This quote was on a church sign that I have passed a couple times. I have pondered on this quote for several weeks before really letting it sink into my heart. LOVE as if your eternity depends on it… Jesus tells us in Matthew that the second commandment is to love thy neighbor as thyself.

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:36-40

Loving our loved ones is easy. It comes natural, but what about ALL the people in the entire world? Does neighbor mean just the house next door to you?… No, not quite. Neighbor means everyone… Every single person on Earth that has breath. Jesus tells us to love them like THYSELF. Christ died for all.

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.  Matthew 5:44-48

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Colossians 3:12-14

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Proverbs 3:27

At the lake one day this past week, a couple of fishermen pulled up to our boat. They were from another state here turkey hunting. They were not having much luck with hunting, so they decided to try their hand at fishing. The two men told us they had caught several Crappie fish with minners (minnows for people not from the south, haha). But they had ran out of minners and came up to our boat to ask where they might could purchase some. Since they were from another state they had no idea which direction to go, so we tried our best to give them directions to the nearest boat dock that might have minners. As they were driving off, my Momma and I both said we would probably never see them again. Once she said this, she proceeded to say the Bible verse; be careful because you may be entertaining angels. As she said that, I was reminded about this blog I had saved on my computer. I saved it because I felt like God needed something else added but I just didn’t know what yet. The moment I heard my Momma speak that verse, I knew it went perfectly along with the message and was exactly what I needed to add. We do not know who the next person we meet may be, or how we could touch their life and be the LIGHT that God needs us to be.

Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. Hebrews 13:1-2

Our job as Christians—- Sow the seed; be the light in this dark world. Its our job to share Jesus Christ… Its Gods job to water the seed we plant. Only God can draw the lost to Him. (No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:44 )  We need to do our part. Love others no matter who they are, no matter what language they speak, how different they are from me, or where they are from in this world. (God created every man in His own image!) So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27      LOVE ALL!

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 1 John 4:20-21

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. Luke 6:32

“We cannot pray in love and live in hate and still think we are worshipping God.” A.W. Tozer

I am going to leave with you a song my good friend sent me, that goes along with today’s message. She has definitely been a light to me during a trying season in my life. I see/feel the light and love of Jesus through her. “Don’t hide in the dark, you were born to SHINE!” Shine for Jesus!

Just click the link and it will take you to it———->     Be a Light

*Be Blessed*BETSY*

Remember… LOVE AS IF YOUR ETERNITY DEPENDS ON IT… (it does)