Love the Lord your God

‘Have you ever been in love
You could touch the moonlight
When your heart's shooting stars
You're holding heaven in your arms
Have you ever been so in love…. it really feels that good

So goes the popular song by Celine Dion.

I thought of these words when I read this week’s Gospel Mark 12: 28-34 ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all you strength’

Both are powerful expressions of love, yet they draw from different wells of the human heart. Jesus speaks of a love rooted in commitment and surrender—a love that calls us to place God at the center, giving our entire selves over to Him with devotion and purpose. It’s a choice that asks for everything we are and everything we have, a sacrificial love that transcends emotions.

In contrast, Celine Dion's lyrics capture the thrill of romantic love, where emotions soar, and the world feels as if it's transformed. Romantic love, as described in her song, is powerful and euphoric, a feeling of closeness that makes us feel as though we could reach beyond ourselves and touch the stars.

Jesus’ command calls us to a deeper, steadfast love—a choice to love even when it costs us, and to find joy in that commitment. In this way, loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength becomes the ultimate journey of intimacy, far beyond the fleeting intensity of romance, fulfilling our deepest longing for union.

Love may start with the feelings Celine Dion’s song captures, but unless it develops further to those words Jesus speak of, it is transient, fleeting and soon falls away like sand between fingers in our hands. The first encounter with disappointment and hurt, it evaporates like water on the pitch of the road on a hot summer day.

True love, the kind Jesus speaks of, is forged not in the warmth of easy emotions but in the refining fire of sacrifice and commitment. It’s a love that chooses to stay even when feelings fade, when misunderstandings arise, or when life’s hardships challenge our capacity to give. This love doesn’t rely on the rush of infatuation or the excitement of newness; instead, it deepens over time, building resilience and depth through perseverance.

In this way, to love God with our whole being means accepting both the beauty and the vulnerability that love demands. It asks us to set aside our own desires, to let go of pride and self-interest, and to lean into a love that strengthens us even when it stretches us. Such love is a reflection of God’s own unchanging love for us—a love that holds us even when we falter, that grows and matures with every act of trust and every choice to stay.

Friend, this is the love the Christ Child can bring into our heart and home this Christmas. But this love doesn’t appear like fleeting magic, it is nurtured in the preparation of Advent. This is why I wrote the little book ‘A Season of Hope - Preparations for Advent and Christmas’. You can obtain an online copy at the following link ‘A Season of Hope LINK’

or you can puchase a physical copy by emailing me at coachbengo@gmail.com or WhatsApp at (868) 678 4857

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