“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered;
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
—Mark 12:30 (NIV) And, Jesus added a second;
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:31 ESV
Vine in vine in fence thriving together
I would like to ask, “how does one do all this loving?“ Don’t forget to add the following to your equation;
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
—Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
I’ve tried to answer my own question and I was reminded of a song written by Bill and Gloria Gaither.
“When I pause in the hush of his holy presence
When I’m so still I can hear each whispered word
When I pause to pray I enter His cathedral”
We thrive together when we enter His Cathedral!
thedailylily.com 
“Early this morning our Samaritan’s Purse 757 and DC-8 cargo planes took off with over 88,500 pounds of nutritional peanut-based food product packets for families in Gaza. These are our sixth and seventh airlifts in just the last month. Please continue praying for our teams on the ground as they work to get this life-saving aid to those in need.” Franklin Graham Samaritan
Is this the meaning of our love scriptures? We can be planted in the garden as we pray for this mission.
Sara, you asked, “Is this the meaning of our love scriptures? We can be planted in the garden as we pray for this mission.”
As I looked at the lovely photos of the various plants, it looked like they had built a loving support system with each other…bridging, holding hands, stabilizing, encouraging; and making ladders and networks to help one another grow and thrive. I noticed that in addition to the plants being different, they were also at different stages. Some seemed older and had taken a back seat and looked like they were providing a leg up to the others. The tall thick sunflower was past its flowering stage and had no head, but its mature stalk was still useful, providing a structure so the vines could twine and climb and reach for the sun with their energy and blooms. The garden soil was hidden, out of sight; just quietly providing the anchor and nutrients for the garden plants.
So, yes, Sara, I would say we can be planted in the garden by doing a part to pray for this very needed mission to be able to give life-giving support to those in Gaza.
When the Apostle Paul was struggling in his work for the Lord, he asked others to join in by praying for him. “Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:30
Debi, the scripture from Romans 15:30 you quote gives us a wide open window to knowledge with understanding. Vine in Vine!“…praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.”
Summary; pray for me because you have a love for me that has been given to you by The Holy Spirit.
The connections of vine in vine and vine in vine and vine in fence come from God’s love gifted to us.
“ I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5
I have another scripture what I might term mystery scripture;
“(God) has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
The footnotes for Mark 12: 29-31 says: ( NLT) “ “God’s laws are not burdensome. They can be reduced to two simple principles: Love God and love others. These commands are from the Old Testament ( Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus19:18). when you love God completely and care for others as you care for yourself, then you have fulfilled the intent of the Ten Commandments and the other Old Testament laws. According to Jesus, these two Commandments summarize all God’s laws. let them rule your thoughts, decisions, and actions. When you are uncertain about what to do, ask yourself which course of action best demonstrates love for God and love for others.” The last sentence here sure struck me to keep it in my mind and heart when I am uncertain about what to do.🙏 Beautiful pictures shared above!🥰
Tammy, always find your footnotes to provoke thought with action and sometimes a bit uncomfortable.
If I could integrate this scripture into my being in full. “ I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”John 15:5Tammy, help me with; “if” I remain in Him and Him in me? Do you think this connects to “let this rule your thoughts, decisions, and actions” (from your footnotes)
I’m thinking my chat here is showing me how valuable our photo’s are to my learning. Those vines planted from a few seeds and allowed to grow and intertwine in sunlight and rain seem to thrive with their blooming fruit and beauty galore. So simple so Sara relax and enjoy the love the Holy Spirit has given.
Sara,,you have asked, “15:5Tammy, help me with; “if” I remain in Him and Him in me? Do you think this connects to “let this rule your thoughts, decisions, and actions” (from your footnotes)”. I’m wondering if the footnotes for John 15- 5-8 would help us with this? (NLT)” many people try to be good, honest people who do what is right. But Jesus says that the only way to live a truly good life is to stay close to him, like a branch attached to the van. Apart from Christ, our efforts are unfruitful. Are you receiving the nourishment in life offered by Christ, the vine? if not, you are missing a special gift he has for you. when a vine produces ‘much fruit’, God is glorified, for daily he sent the sunshine and the rain to make the crops grow, and constantly, he nurtured each tiny plant and prepared it to blossom. What a moment of glory for the Lord of the harvest when the harvest is brought into the barns, mature, and ready for use! He made it all happen! This farming analogy shows how God is glorified when people come into a right relationship with him and begin to ‘produce much fruit’ in their lives.”
WOW Tammy! Your footnotes to polish up our “if” didn’t disappoint did they?
and, responding to Tammy footnotes for John 15:5 we pray, “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
—Psalm 25:5 (NIV)
No, Sara, those footnotes did not disappoint.
I agree in prayer with you Sara. 🙏
Sara, the mystery scripture you shared really leaves us with plenty to ponder. “(God) has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
Just looking at those plants in the photos is a mystery. How can all that growth (leaves, vines, roots, flowers, seeds) come from one seed? There seems to be a bit of eternity in a seed because of the cycle from seed, to grow; to flower and then produce seed; and then from seed the cycle continues….on and on and on. How do these plants know when to grow, how to twine, which direction to twine? God is a great Vinedresser, Creator and Gardener.
As the title of the blog says, “Abundance of Love”. God is love. (I John 4:8) That is big. It makes me think of this scripture, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”
And thank you for sharing the beautiful song to help us “enter His Cathedral”.
Thanks Debi for the scripture prayer that we may have the power to understand the measure of God’s love you have shared.