Some time ago, I went to the Oklahoma State Free Will Baptist Association meeting. The theme this year was, "Gone Fishing". The theme last night was "Deep Sea Fishing." Mike Cousineau was the featured speaker. Mr. Cousineau heads up the Hanna Project (http://www.hannaproject.com/). I was moved by the images shown on the screen. Mike Cousineau actually acted as the facilitator for the evening. A pastor that I have known for many years spoke on a familiar passage to me: Mark 12:29-31.
The passage is one that has new meaning, since I'm now an attorney. The "lawyer" asks Jesus what is the greatest commandment. Jesus replies by quoting the shema from Deuteronomy 6:4-6, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart mind, soul, and strength." Additionally he quotes Leviticus 19:18, "Love your neighbor as yourself." The passage in Matthew 22 Jesus says that on those two things hang all the law and the prophets.
How did this fit into what moved me at the conference? Well, the pastor, Jimmy Holbrook, made a startling statement where he essentially stated that when I learn to love God with everything I am, I am able to love my neighbor as myself. I begin to learn to be "other-centered." As Rick Warren eloquently puts it, "It's not about me." Grasping that leads me back to Mark 12:29-31 and helps me to be a fisher of men.
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