Too Many Books

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” — from Matthew 22

Brother Lawrence wanted to know how to be close to God. So he read lots of books about it. But every book said something different. Do this! No, do that! Pray this way! No, that way! Instead of helping him, all those different ideas just muddled him up.

So he decided to keep it simple. He gave his whole self to God, and asked God to take away his sin. Then he began to live as if there were only two people in the whole world: God and him.

He tried to think about God as much as he could, all day long. Some days he thought of God as a judge, and felt sorry for the wrong things he had done. Other days he thought of God as his loving Father, living right inside his heart.

It wasn’t easy. His mind kept wandering off. And for years he worried that he didn’t love God as much as he should, and he kept remembering the wrong things he had done. He often fell, and got up again. But he kept on trusting God.

Then one day, all at once, a deep, quiet peace filled his heart, and it stayed. From then on he walked with God simply, with trust and with love.

Loving God doesn’t need to be complicated. You don’t need to know lots of clever rules. You can start today, just by remembering that God is with you and telling him you love him.

Dear God, I want to love you with all my heart. Help me to remember you are with me, today and every day. Amen.