The Great Commandment directs us to love in three directions: upwardly (God), outwardly (neighbor), and inwardly (one’s self). Much of Christian teaching centers on the first two objectives and largely ignores the third. To be certain, all love starts with and comes from God.

The other night, Cathy and I were searching the nighttime skies for a glimpse of the Perseids meteor shower. Sadly, we failed to see anything. Yet a wonderful thought did enter my mind.

     A robin has made her nest in one of Cathy’s flowerpots. As we stand on the front porch, we can hear the chicks peeping. Every so often, we capture a glimpse of the mother hovering over her babies, feeding them, protecting them, and nurturing them.

     The following poem was written by T. S. Elliot back in 1922:

 

“Within my earthly Temple there’s a crowd,
There’s one who’s humble and one who’s proud.

     I’ll let you in on a little secret. At least once a day, I embrace my wife and sing to her the refrain of an old Johnny Cash song:

 

  You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,
  You make me happy when skies are gray.

     When my daughter was a toddler, she grew angry with me for refusing her permission to play in the cold rain. Her response to me was predictable: “I don’t like you anymore, Daddy.”