Filtered Love: Mark 12:30

Again with the Beth Moore study...Today I was reading over one of the studies and came across this: 

Christ never preached the annihilation of affection.  He taught the redirection of affection.  Human affection first directed to God and filtered through His Hands returns to us far healthier and fit for others.  That's one reason we are commanded to love Him first before we love others.  Love that goes through Him first is filtered.

Completely profound.  As a Christian, you are always told that God has a reason for everything He does, for everything He tells us to do.  But, you never think that God has a reason for telling us to do something and you should take Him literally and do it in the order that He tells you to...
 
Mark 12:30 says, "...'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  

I know that I should love God and that I should love my neighbor, but I've never thought about there being a reason that He tells me to love Him before I love my neighbor...There are so many times that I try to love my neighbor (others) and I get so frustrated because it is so absolutely, ridiculously hard.  Apparently, it's because I've not filtered that love through God by loving Him first...truly loving Him first.  It makes so much more sense that He would have a reason for telling us to love God, then love your neighbor.  I want my love for others to be a healthy love and a love fit for others...what does that even look like, a love fit for others?  A love that displays Christ and sees others the way that Christ sees them.

The hardest part?  Others includes my husband and my children...I most definitely want to have a love that is fit for them, my primary ministry.

NOTE:  My baby Ezra Ruth turns 5 years old today.  We had her birthday party on Saturday, but today I took some little cupcakes to her class.  After school, Joshua met us at the library so that Ruthie could get her first library card.  She (and we) were so excited!  I can't believe that she is already 5 years old.  So many things I wish I could have done better, but there are so many days ahead!