Bernard of Clairvaux

Since God IS love, it only makes sense that seeing his love for us would drive us to love, since he is love. It seems as though nothing else could ever enable us to love anyone or anything, except for God, because without God we wouldn't even know what love is. Knowing that God loves me pushes me to love him because of how powerful he is. God is so big that I should be scared when I'm in his presence. We are supposed to fear God, but he is love and he is perfect, therefore, he gives us peace and comfort when we are in him. His characteristics draw me in to him and give me no other choice but to love him. When we are truly in God, love is in us. This should compel us to love everyone else because God's love is perfected in us when we are in him. His loving us when he has all the power to crush or accept us entitles us to love people and not punish them because God has loved us in that way. We have to be sure that we understand how huge God's love for us is, so that truth can transform our hearts and lives, otherwise it would be very easy to only "love" God because of what he can do for us. Ultimately, we need to try our best to persistently live in the third degree of love; "so that we now love God, not for our own sake, but for himself," and to do that we must love God for who he is and understand the way that we are supposed to live in order to show our love for him through everything that we do.

Dallas Willard #2

Out of the 10 commandments found in Matthew 5, two of the most important are these:
1. If you are angry with someone, get right with them before sacrificing to God.
2. Love all of your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

If you are angry with a brother or sister then your heart is not right. God's biggest command was to first love him with our entire being and to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we love God, the second part of that command will happen out of our love for him. If we try to sacrifice something to God while we are angry with someone, our heart is in the wrong place. God wants us to love him so much that our relationships with other people are important to us. If we do not straighten our feelings towards a person out, we will likely be distracted while trying to interact with God. I'm scared that we would even be acting the role instead of being genuine.

We are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Doing so will show our love for others. I feel like this commandment implies that we need to be genuine about the prayers and the love. That means we should be so close to God that our love for others should match his love for them. We need to love them like Christ and really care about our enemies and persecutors. If we don't love and pray for them, then we are shown that our anger is triumphing God's love when ultimately it should be the other way around. We would miss out in the blessing of seeing their relationship with God grow and we would be robbing them of a blessing.

Dallas Willard #1

10 Commandments given by Jesus in Matthew 5:

1. Let your light shine before others.
2. If you are angry with someone, get right with them before you sacrifice to God.
3. If your right eye/right hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
4. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.
5. Do not resist the one who is evil.
6. If anyone slaps your right cheek, turn to him also the other.
7. If anyone makes you go one mile with them, go two.
8. Give to the one who begs from you.
9. Do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
10. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

C. S. Lewis #2

The church that I went to for most of my school years is called Central Baptist Church and it's located in Kirbyville, Tx. I made the decision, for myself, to go to church in the fifth grade. I tried a few different churches and found myself being drawn to Central in Kirbyville. I didn't know what to truly watch for in a church since I was young and church was never really a big part of my family life. The generosity and patience of the members there was so evident that I was drawn in. When I felt I was called to missions, I was offered a position on our Ukraine mission trip team. Desiring to go I knew that it would be difficult since I didn't have a way. I had no passport, no clothes suited for Ukrainian weather, and definitely no money to pay for all of it. My church family knew the situation I was in and everything was provided for me without even having to ask. Central Baptist Church in Kirbyville genuinely made me into a "little christ." They were lead by the spirit to provide ways for me to fulfill my calling in life. They continue to do things for other people and find joy in doing so. So many camp scholarships, school supplies, hot meals, transportation opportunities, and clothes are given out. Most importantly, numerous lives have not only heard the gospel, but they have seen it played out by a faithful group of Christ-followers.

C.S. Lewis #1

In the excerpts from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, a few different things are covered. Giving it all to God, dangerous thiings and impossible parts of our walk with Christ. For me the hardest part of giving my whole life to God section 5 titled, The almost impossible thing. Lewis pulled scripture saying that thistle cannot produce figs, Grass fields cannot produce wheat. I often find myself acting out the part and playing christianity instead of letting God plough and resow me. It takes desire and self control to push back our desires and let Christ fully change us from the inside out instead of just making the outside look pretty.