35. Keeping Jesus with us

Jesus reminds us of God’s Law of Love:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark, chapter 12, verses 30 to 31

Then one of the scribes say:
Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, “He is One and there is no other than he.” And “to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself” is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. Mark, chapter 12, verses 32 to 33

Jesus knows that he makes a good point then adds:
“You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Mark, chapter 12, verse 34a

He’s not far, but… he’s not near the kingdom. He still needs to recognize Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. He will need to accept and follow Jesus.
And we have so many activities and projects underway that it will be difficult not to start the journey of faith, but to continue it. A small inconvenience could jeopardize the realization of the journey.

Turbulence under the airplane will make us doubt the craft quality. A negative distraction, especially from people in the church or even elsewhere, can lead us to believe less in Jesus and back off. May we not let distractions or negative situations end our walk with Jesus.

It demands our personal decision, not the one of others, for us to remain forever with Jesus. And it’s for us now, to bring more joy, serenity, positive thoughts and prayers in our parish, then to our surroundings.

This is our mission! Let’s keep Jesus with us. It is he who completes us with his presence and grants us his gifts to share.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: A path to conversion, Normand Thomas