“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 37:36-40 NLT
I’m a chronic to-do list maker. I make lists of the lists running through my mind. On my phone. In a text to my husband. Cued up when we have multiple things to do at the same place. Listed out when we have a gazillion places to go. I cross off items only to add more, and chief among all….I will add items that I’ve completed EVEN IF they are aren’t on the original list so that I can go back and cross them off. I will stare down tasks bulldozing them off of my plate, only to have to the same scenario present itself the following day. Somewhere in me is the deep, deep desire to get things done to the best of my ability and getting stuff done is pretty much always a big deal to me.
Enter Jesus.
He is so good, and so kind and so Jesus-enough that he isn’t afraid to mess with me, the order of things that I think I need or the ridiculous things I’ve come to rely on. (Especially when they aren’t him.) He’s not afraid to walk into the dynamics of our lives and reorder what we think we need and blow them out of the water with the truth of his word and his presence.
Don’t you love how he will mess with you, even if you’re not ready for it? I can’t say I always do, but I’ve given him my yes which means I’m here for it, even when I’m not ready for it.
The above verse stares me down, and challenges everything my to-do lists stand for. Productivity, efficiency, and prioritizing/ honoring commitments are all good things. However, they aren’t the only things…and they shouldn’t be priorities above all else. There’s a call that goes out- and we need to have eyes to see and ears to hear it to give ourselves to THE priority Jesus calls us to: Love.
Love God.
Love others.
Love ourselves.
Love needs to be the top priority. Why? Because when Jesus himself was asked what was the most important thing, this was his response: Love.
In a world full of priorities, productivities and dare I even say it…..to-do lists. (Yep, I said it. And you don’t even know how it pains me to say so) All of them fall silent and short of what Jesus calls us to do: love.
We’re called to love in everything that we do, and everyone we come in contact with. We love God, we love our neighbors and yes, there is even room to love ourselves. When the drive of priorities calls you to be busy, burdened or burgeons you will stress….remember love. And let that be the first priority in all that you do.
So much love,
Joy