Week 13 Daily Dose of Love
#85 (3/26)
Serving Two Masters
Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate
the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Luke 16:13
No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or
be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
We are either moving toward God
or away from him. Pursuing wealth to fulfill our own wishes and attachments turns us away from God and makes us less able
to love. Accumulating wealth serves the “false self,” the worldly part of us that strives for
security, esteem and pleasure. The false self cannot experience true love. We can only
be loved for who we really are, and the false self is not what God created us to be. True love requires
that we willingly transcend selfish desires for the lasting good of all - there is no room for falsity in that.
Meister Eckhart tells us that a cup that is filled with water must be emptied before we can pour wine into
it. The only way to make room for God’s love in our
hearts is to empty it of selfish attachments and desires.
We need to be on guard to keep
our false self from creeping in and turning us away from God’s love. The only way to serve God, is
to bring our true self, the part of us that he created, to him.
Reflection/Discussion:
How can we recognize when our “false self” is influencing our decisions?
Principles of Love:
Opening; Decision; Vision
Pray through the Day:
Open our hearts
to your love
#86
(3/27)
Worry
Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what
you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more
than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add
a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of
these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the
oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What
will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of
its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Luke 12:22-31
He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell
you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life
is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they
have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not
able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?
Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was
not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today
and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And
do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For
it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead,
strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
Worry is different than concern. Concern leads to compassion and
action. Worry just leads to more worry. When we worry our mind goes in circles. We tend to ask questions
without answering them. Ultimately, worry is a trap that undermines trust, feeds attachment, and makes us more self-absorbed,
all of which interfere with love. It’s a mental habit that can become deeply ingrained - like a groove
we slip into without realizing it. One way to eliminate worry is to create another groove in our mind that
becomes deeper than the one created by worry - a new groove that opens us to God’s love. In the early 19th
century, a Russian pilgrim asked a monk how to pray always. He was told to repeat a short prayer thousands
of times daily whenever his mind did not need to be focused on something else. This is a surprisingly effective way to stop worry. Simply repeating the
brief prayers at the end of these reflections slowly and silently to ourselves throughout the day as we go about our routine
displaces worry and creates a new habit of ongoing prayer.
Another way to stop worry is to counter it with trust and love. Love
is where we come from and what we live for. Jesus has shown us that love is greater than appearance or
satiety, greater than suffering and death. There is nothing that can destroy love but our own choices. Every
hurt or loss creates an opportunity to open our hearts a little more. The only way we can truly love is to realize that we are loved. When we fully realize that
God loves every single one of us, as we are, no harm that makes any lasting difference can touch us. If
we fully grasp that fact, what’s left to worry about?
Reflection/Discussion:
When are we most likely to get stuck in worry?
Principles of Love:
Vision; Compassion; Commitment; Acceptance, Opening
Pray through the Day:
Open our eyes
To deepen our love
#87
(3/28)
Judge Not
Matthew 7:1-2
“Do
not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure
you give will be the measure you get.
Luke 6:37-38
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and
you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
Judging others is
a subtle and insidious temptation that creates a trap for our heart and can slam it shut. We feel righteous when we
judge others. Passing judgment on others implies that we are better than they are. It
can make us feel better for a little while. We tend to judge from a distance. This absolves
us of any personal responsibility and allows us to blame them for what’s wrong. When we judge, it
can even feel like we helping God, like we are carrying out his will. But judgment is God’s job, not ours.
God doesn’t want us to judge because it prevents us from loving. Human judgment creates a
wall of moral superiority that squashes compassion and squeezes out acceptance, understanding, and hope of redemption. The irony is that pronouncing judgment on others is one of the best ways to insure that they
continue doing what we criticize them for. When someone feels judged, they easily become defensive and
then justify their actions. They build resistance and try to recruit others to help prove the judgment
wrong.
Human judgment isolates and separates whereas love unites and connects. Jesus
came to teach us how to love which means we need to let go of the temptation to judge.
Reflection/Discussion:
Under what circumstances are we most tempted
to judge others?
Principles of Love:
Acceptance; Humility; Opening; Vision
Pray through the Day:
Not my will
But yours be done
#88 (3/29)
The Log in our Eye
Matthew 7:3-6
“Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s
eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me
take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take
the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
“Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they
will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.”
Luke 6:39-42
He also told them a parable: “Can a blind person
guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone
who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s
eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend,
let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take
the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”
Removing a speck from someone’s eye is gentle and careful work. It
requires that we get close to them and that they trust us completely. It demands good light and clear vision.
It is not something that can be done in a hurry. Judgment tends to be quick and harsh. It pushes others away and puts
us into darkness. Jesus tells us that judging others is a bigger sin than whatever we might be judging
them for - it’s a log compared to a speck. A speck in our eye blurs our vision and distorts our perceptions
but a log totally blocks our ability to see opportunities for reconciliation and healing. Logs block our
hearts and keep us from seeing and receiving God’s love. Helping
someone turn away from harmful behavior requires acceptance, compassion, and understanding. We need to
seek areas of common ground and establish a dialogue of openness and trust. That’s what Jesus did
with everyone except those who were judgmental. Being judgmental turns us into dogs and swine who trample
on God’s love without even knowing what it is. These are harsh words but judgment is harsh behavior
that does not easily respond to gentleness or love.
Reflection/Discussion:
What do we miss when we judge others?
Principles of Love:
Vision; Acceptance; Humility; Compassion
Pray through the Day:
Open our eyes
To deepen our love
#89 (3/30)
Perseverance in Prayer
Matthew 7:7-11
“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.
For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the
child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Luke 11:5-13
And
he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend
me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And
he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot
get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because
he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened
for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks,
the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give
a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
John 16:24; 14:13-14; 15:7
“Ask and you will receive, so that
your joy may be complete. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. If
you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
Jesus isn’t
telling us that God will give us anything we want. God is not an over-indulgent parent.
He does not want us to become spoiled children. The verses from John offer a helpful perspective on this part of Jesus’ teaching.
We ask through prayer “so our joy may be complete.” Complete joy is only possible through
all-encompassing love. Anything we ask for that helps us to love more completely will be granted.
When we ask for something in Jesus’ name we are asking for receptivity to God’s love. That
eliminates any sense of attachment or selfish desire and simply opens us to receive what has already been promised.
Likewise, to abide in Jesus is to commit to his love being manifested in us. He is happy to give
us anything that helps us be more open to his love.
We were created from love, to love.
Love is our true nature. Asking for anything out of love opens us to deeper love, which puts us
more in touch with who we really are. This is exactly what God wants for us. Of course,
he will give us what we ask. It’s only natural.
Reflection/Discussion:
How can we incorporate the request to
be open to God’s love in all our prayers?
Principles of Love:
Nature; Commitment
Pray through the Day:
We were created
From God’s love
#90 (3/31)
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“In
everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”
Luke 6:31
“Do
to others as you would have them do to you.”
The Golden Rule involves much more than simply being fair and just in an economic sense. If we take a deeper look at how we want others to treat
us, we realize that we want them to accept us for who we are and understand our weaknesses and faults, while providing encouragement
and support so that we can reach our full potential. We want others to respect and trust us, to forgive
and empathize with us, to recognize our gifts, tolerate our shortcomings, and share our sorrow and joy. To
put it simply, we want others to love us.
That’s what Jesus tells us
to do to them.
Reflection/Discussion:
What happens when the golden rule is applied without love?
Principles of Love:
Decision; Unity; Opening; Compassion; Commitment; Vision
Pray through the Day:
Help us always
To choose love
#91 (4/1) The Narrow Gate
Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is
wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow
and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Luke
13:23-30
Someone asked him,
“Lord, will only a few be saved?” He said to them, “Strive to enter through the
narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house
has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’
then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin
to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say,
‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you
yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat
in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
We can’t carry
a lot of baggage or a big ego through a narrow gate. There are thousands of ways to falsify and distort
love but only one way to truly love. Jesus makes it clear that just hanging out with him and going through
the motions is not enough. The last will be first because those who put others ahead of themselves have the least
amount of selfishness in their hearts and the most room for God’s love. The more we think of ourselves, the less
we are able to think of others. We become smaller and smaller in our own eyes as we realize the depth of
God’s love for us and the wonder, beauty and mystery of all that he has created. The gate to God’s kingdom is sized to fit precisely who we are - who God created us to be.
If we try to act like we’re anything more than that, we won’t make it through.
Reflection/Discussion:
What tempts and pressures us to inflate
or diminish our self-image?
Principles of Love:
Humility; Compassion; Decision; Vision
Pray through the Day:
Help us be humble
So we may love
