Only Two Commands

1 John 3:23 "And this is His command: to believe in the name of the Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us."

   Precious Lord, You give me just two commands!  This should be a piece of cake!
   The first seemed like the easier of the two until I realized it is a daily command.  I trusted You as Savior believing in You and You work on my behalf on the cross and through Your resurrection.  But I really need to believe in You daily in, and with, everything.  I need to believe in Your unconditional love so I am not performance driven or a people pleaser, believe in your loving provision so that I am not stressed over my financial situation, the believe You are giving wisdom and discernment as I deal with others and make decisions.  Lord, I confess that even after 30 plus years of walking with You daily that I, like Paul, have not "arrived".
   The second command is harder to obey constantly then the first because You are perfect and always truthful and we humans, even blood bought Christians, are not.  It is not hard for me to love the lovely, loving, and pure.  However; to love the unlovely, unloving, and irritating is so much harder.  But I am to love all men unconditionally, especially those in the Family.  Not because they may or may not deserve it, but because it is for Your sake and You command it of me.  This unconditional love requires pure selflessness and to see others as You saw/see me, a sinner in need of grace and mercy.