As we plow through the Good Book, there is one thing I repeat over and over to myself and my children. The entire Bible boils down to just one word.

Now I am not going to turn this into one of Mitch's fun stumpers, and make you guess what the word is. I am going to tell you all and then explain why I think this. The word is..... LOVE.

Jesus told us "to love the Lord our GOD with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and to love our neighbors as ourselves." Now I know some here aren't Christians, some aren't as comfortable as others with the Bible, but please hang in here and I will try to explain this as clearly as I can.

The principles of love in the Bible will make you a better person, parent, citizen and Homesteader! The reason that many want nothing to do with Christianity is often the fault of Christians themselves. Christians can be the best example of Christianity and also the worst at times. But by changing to the way of Love we can cover a "multitude of sins".

Being a Christian doesn't have to be all that hard. There don't have to be 100's of pages of rules to follow, it should be as refreshing as the Fall breeze! Jesus said, "come to me all you who are heavy laden,and I will give you rest" Rest for our thoughts, and our souls!

How does the Bible boil down to love? Let's start at the beginning, (the very best place to start!)

We should love God first, If we love God what will happen in our lives? Well it should lead us to respect what he has given us: a beautiful Earth for our home, water to drink, beautiful plants, and flowers to enjoy. This should lead us to take the best possible care of the precious resources he has given us. It should lead us not to pollute, not to waste, not to contaminate, not to be greedy, not to want more than our share. It should lead us to preserve, protect, and treat his creation as precious and valuable.

We should love our neighbor... and who is our neighbor? Well to me it is the entire race of mankind, near and far from us, including our families. Love for our neighbor should lead us not to steal, kill, lie, cheat,or slander others. It should lead us to take good care of our families, and our children. It should make us patient and kind, understanding and good. It should give us a meek and humble attitude, not putting ourselves and our needs first. It should lead us to do no harm to anyone and to live peaacefully with all people.

And we should love ourselves also. Loving ourselves is often the hardest of all. Oh how we can look inside ourselves and see how awful we really are!! But God does not expect us to be perfect, how well he knows the sins of mankind. He just expects us to use the gift of salvatin he sent us, to ask for forgiveness, to pick ourselves up each day, dust off our pants, get back in the saddle and try again! Love for our own self will lead us to not succumb to the awful tragedies of drug abuse, and alcoholism. It will lead us to kick away our self-doubts, our shortcomings and become a better person each and every day, and to know that God really does love us.

So my friends the Bible truly does boil down to Love, all the verses and stories just show us what happens when people do or don't practice this Love! We don't need many, many rules and regulations, if we all abide by the principle of love then God will truly love us. Your Christianity will shine forth as bright as a light-house on a dark foggy night. People will just know there is something different about you, they will sense it by the smile on your face, the joy in your eyes and the love in your heart.

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), October 19, 2001

Answers

Thank you Melissa-I needed that message more than I could ever say. Its very easy to be a loving person when things are going well, but when things get rough, sometimes we need to be reminded. Thanks again-I believe today you are my guardian angel. Much thanks-Kelly

-- Kelly in KY (ksaderholm@yahoo.com), October 19, 2001.

Your story reminds me of a song we sing when we go on the walk to Emaus candlelights. Love Love Love Love the Gospel in one word is Love Love your neighbor as yourself love love love. Isn't God so Good. I get myself into so much stuff sometimes that if I didn't have Him I think I would lose my mind.

-- mindy (speciallady@countrylife.net), October 19, 2001.

Hey Mindy, de colores! Yes, it's all about love, His for us and us for Him. I always need to remind myself that God wants a relationship with me. It's not about pages and pages of ritual, it's about the relationship. He walked in the cool of the evening with Adam, and what a powerful and tender image that is. He still wants that kind of closeness. We don't need to read books about God, we need to talk to God, and listen to what He says in return.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), October 19, 2001.

What an awesome challenge it is to love God with our whole heart , soul and mind!! Gods word does over and over show us how we are to love one another, and most of all it gives the example of His Son, who laid His life down for our sins. I could never imagine giving up my all for a people who reject me and hate me. Yet He came to do His Fathers will. I want to love God with all that i have, it just seems like this flesh gets in the way. =) " I can do all things through Christ , which strengtheneth me" Phil 4: 13 Gods word doesn't tell us how we should act or how we should use our lives, but it also says that we're never alone, and that we can trust GOD with everything. God is love.

-- jillian (sweetunes483@yahoo.com), October 19, 2001.