The great Commandment in Matthew 22:37-40 is clear: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… And love your neighbor as yourself. For generations, the Church has spent her days striving to live out this commandment:  To love unconditionally; to love the unlovable, to love our enemies, to love with grace; to love the lost, least and lonely; to love with our actions, our hands and feet. At times we love well and so many times we miss the mark, however, God desires us to keep on loving! We are not called to show love that is unaccustomed to us but in ways that are already part of how we live, do business, and raise our families. What if fulfilling our purpose at FUMC was by striving to live out the Great Commandment? God wants us as laborers for Him to love as we go! Watch this video to show you what I mean: 

 

You see our whole life is to serve God, to labor for Him as we go, freely receiving from God and freely giving to others just as the shepherds who cared for sheep were gifted by God to shepherd nations and fisherman called by God to leave their nets to fished for people. So how do we love God so completely that we become a part of changing other people’s lives in the name of Christ Jesus? For those of you who are newer to this congregation, First United Methodist Church and School is beginning the second week of a Church wide study called Freely Receive, Freely Give.