“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22: 36-40, NASB)
In this passage, Jesus is confronted by a Pharisaic lawyer who is trying to trap Him. Jesus answers his question on the great commandment by paraphrasing the great Jewish prayer, The Shema. The message is simple: Love God with everything you’ve got. Jesus adds the second commandment, love other people. If we can concentrate on those two things, everything else will fall into place!
After my diagnosis of ALS, after the shock had worn off, and I had come to my senses, I prayed and asked God to give me some direction. What would He want me to do with ALS? After all, I was headed to the unknown. I was already unable to walk, and over time I was sure to become less able, to the point of total dependency. How would someone in my state be able to carry out God’s commands?
Over the next days and weeks, the answer started to be clear. During Bible study, I prayed and tried to pay attention to God’s commands to see which ones I could do, and which ones would be impossible. It was as if God was saying, “I want you to do the same things I wanted you to do before. Nothing has changed.” There seemed to be nothing in the Bible that ALS would prevent me from doing. The only limitations I would have would be the same as before: My humanity and my sin nature.
For example, Jesus says I’m to love God and love people. I can still try to do those, ALS or not. And over time I’ve found it best to concentrate on what I CAN do versus what I can’t do.
On loving God: I can still study His Word to learn more about His laws and His goodness. I can still talk with Him.
On loving people: I still interact with people. My mission field is different: Hospitals, doctor’s offices, plus I have doctors, nurses, and therapists coming to me. I can’t speak, but I can still show God’s love to them. And I can still pray!
Love has a name: His name is Jesus!
Worship: Love the Lord, by Lincoln Brewster