By Daeun

Read: Numbers 4:1-5:31, Mark 12:18-37, Psalm 48:1-14, Proverbs 10:26

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”
Mark 12:29-30

Relate:
One of the most crucial things for a Christian to remember is that we are not allowed to have any other gods before our Lord, as stated in the Ten Commandments. If a Christian believes and believes they are a true Christian, this scripture makes it quite evident what they should preserve as their first priority. I want to use my own experience as a missionary kid to connect with this scripture. My upbringing as a missionary child under parents who had strong religious convictions made me believe without a doubt in God’s existence. But as I became older and my cognitive thinking expanded, a number of doubts concerning God and my views about him surfaced. I questioned why I should only believe in the God that my parents believed in because there were so many idols and gods. I was interested in studying other religions, including Buddhism, and Greek mythological gods. I had no idea that I didn’t want to be a Christian when the thought came to me as a teenage girl out of pure curiosity. To be clear, God would not allow me to leave him. I’m not sure if this was a challenge from God or a trick of the devil.

After a high school tribulation that I felt was sent by God, my belief was validated. I was physically and emotionally damaged by all of the unwanted events that occurred at the same time without warning. This ordeal numbed my feelings and cut me off from the outside world. My body began to heat up and tears started to fall from my eyes, but the evil averted me from concentrating on the teachings and scriptures read in church. I had no idea what sensation or feeling I was going through, but at that precise time, I was certain it was God’s love. He was giving me his love without end before I ever gave it to him; I was just blind to it and refused it. I gave myself over to him to love and serve him for the rest of my life at that same moment, confessing my sins.

React:
As I have previously stated, in order to live by the belief that there is only one God to serve, we must first acknowledge that God already loves us, regardless of the situation we find ourselves in. God has given us all of our strengths and abilities as gifts since the day we were created. Furthermore, God has given people different gifts in different categories, such as the capacity for preaching, playing an instrument well, or even interacting with people. By using the gifts that God has given us, we can demonstrate to non-believers our relationship and love for God, and via us, we can demonstrate to them that God is a loving God. Similar to how a family’s relationship with its members might affect how other people perceive them, whether or not they appear to be a happy family. You must first recognize the gift you have been given in order to be able to act this out. Your gifts are merely concealed and with you right now, so it’s perfectly okay if you haven’t noticed them yet. As you travel and experience new things, those will gradually and unexpectedly come into your life.

Respond:

My loving, exclusive God,
Thank you for your grace over me. You have allowed me to be in this world as your child to believe exclusively in you and work on your commandments. Let me use all my strengths to serve you and your people without being disturbed by any worldly, godless desires. Also, let my life be full of you and the Holy Spirit that will flow over and affect others as well until your kingdom comes. In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.