Boyce Mouton
EnglishEspañol
Letter 529English

Letters From Grandpa #529

Boyce Mouton · 2 pages · 1,049 words

  • LETTER FROM GRANDPA
  • 529

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will be about the most important commandment in the Bible. “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” (Mark 12:28-30) If you miss this commandment you miss it all!

God wrote the Ten Commandments to warn everyone never to love anyone or anything before Him. God said: “I, the Lord your God am a jealous God.” (Exodus 20:3-6) That’s why “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9) Lukewarm love for God is not an option! C. S. Lewis said it like this: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important ”

Six days before His last Passover Jesus found Mary, the sister of Lazarus, to be someone who loved Him with all her heart! The story is recorded in John 12:1-11. Jesus had been teaching His disciples for many months that He had to die in Jerusalem, but somehow their minds were blinded to this reality. Mary, however, saw what they didn’t see! When she understood the reality of His impending death she was so overcome with sorrow that she took a flask of expensive perfume and anointed Jesus for His burial. That perfume was valued at a year’s wages and may have represented her life’s savings! Judas criticized her for not giving this money to the poor, but John explained: “He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:6) This expensive perfume had such a powerful aroma that its fragrance filled the whole house. No doubt, it also remained on Jesus long enough to remind Him of the fragrance of her love as He breathed His last breath.

Yes! The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth looking for true love like that of Mary. A similar love was expressed by Ruth when she said to Naomi: “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17)

  • The Bible is filled with examples of those willing to give the priority of their love to God!
  • Consider Abraham who left everything to obey the call of God (Hebrews 11:8-19).
  • Consider David, who risked it all as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 16:7-13).
  • Consider the poor widow who gave God all the money that she had (Mark 12:42-44).
  • Consider the aged Anna who prayed continually and never left the temple (Luke 2:36-38).
  • Consider Paul who valued all his earthly treasures as rubbish (Philippians 3:3-11).
  • Consider Peter who spoke who reminded Jesus: “Lord we have left everything to follow you.” (Mark 10:28)
  • “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness

was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.” (Hebrews 11:32-35)

Compare these heroes and heroines of the faith with the lukewarm love of Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus for a measly 30 pieces of silver. Or Ananias and Sapphira who died trying to earn the praise of men instead of the praise of God (Acts 5:1-11). Or Demas who deserted Paul because he loved this present world (2 Timothy 4:10). Or consider this more contemporary rejection of Jesus expressed by the late Wilbur Rees. With tongue in cheek he said: “I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of God to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.”

The church is the Bride of Christ and please remember that God comes to the marriage altar making a total commitment. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) How do you intend to come to the marriage altar?

Please don’t insult Jesus anymore or reject His love any longer! Rejected love is a painful! Remember that Jesus has already been “despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” (Isaiah 53:3). Some of you have already had your hearts broken by heartless people rejecting your love!

PLEASE DON’T REJECT HIS LOVE ANY LONGER! PLEASE DON’T MAKE JESUS SUFFER ANYMORE. PLEASE ANOINT HIS BLEEDING FEET WITH THE FRAGRANT PRIORITY OF YOUR UNDYING LOVE. HE HAS SUFFERED ENOUCH ALREADY!

Please love Jesus with all your heart!

Grandpa Boyce