When a lawyer asked Christ Jesus what the greatest commandment of the law was, the Master replied, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment." ^{Matt. 22:37, 38.}

How often do we consciously consider our love for God? If Jesus placed such importance on this command, shouldn't we take some time to look at our response? To admit even a fleeting sense of thanks to God is a step in the right direction, but the commandment ultimately demands wholehearted love.

Whatever marks we may be inclined to give our past performances, it is possible to start living and fulfilling the "great commandment" once we gain the barest apprehension of God. In a portion of Science and Health discussing God's immateriality and incorporeality, Mrs. Eddy affirms, "We shall obey and adore in proportion as we apprehend the divine nature and love Him understandingly, warring no more over the corporeality, but rejoicing in the affluence of our God." ^{Science and Health, p. 140.}

We can love God understandingly when it dawns on us that God is Love, as the Bible declares. Conceiving of God as all-powerful is one thing, and may elicit fear and respect, but to actually know Him as all-powerful Love is quite another. This latter view awakens us to the joyful certainty that God governs with the most tender care.

One way to deepen our love of God is to make a sincere attempt to be grateful to Him for each daily event of good that touches our lives, big or small. It can even be helpful to make a list each day. There is always something to record! Or one could close the day mentally reviewing the good that came.

Of course, mere listing in itself does not guarantee the right attitude of thought. Mechanically listing things to be grateful for can no more benefit us than rote repetition of familiar passages from the Bible or Science and Health. Unless we have that deep, inner conviction of the allness and goodness of God, the consequent perfection of man in His image, and thus know why we are making a list or pondering a phrase, the healing impetus is missing.

If some day were to go by when we thought we had nothing to be grateful for, we would be missing the main point if we were not simply grateful for the momentous fact of God's existence, His unchanging goodness, and our legitimate claim to upright, blessed, and protected stature as children of God. Science and Health points out, "If we are ungrateful for Life, Truth, and Love, and yet return thanks to God for all blessings, we are insincere and incur the sharp censure our Master pronounces on hypocrites." ^{Ibid., p. 3.}

For many years I wondered why I could not feel a keen, more lasting sense of gratitude to God for all the wonderful healing, saving events that had blessed my life. I'd be grateful a few hours, or happy and thankful for God's care a few days, and then the feeling would vanish. I'd forget. New demands would intrude. Fresh problems would arise, and I'd be engrossed in a struggle to free myself from a new set of entrapping circumstances, looking through the wrong end of the telescope again, completely oblivious to the God-given good so recently lighting my life.

It was startling (and a little chastening) to abruptly realize I had completely forgotten certain instances of divine protection, or events that were such blessings I'd promised myself I would never stop being grateful.

Endeavoring to get at the root cause, I found that there was no denying that more than just a short memory was involved. Evidently, instead of being grateful for Life, Truth, and Love, I was focusing on each single event, overlooking the great, all-encompassing Love behind it. When I came to place more importance on the sure fact of God's overall loving care than on any one happening, I found a higher and more lasting gratitude. Now I was able to express thanks prior to an actual blessing or healing, supported by the dawning conviction that since God was Love and God was all, the outcome would have to be good. I gained a stronger feeling that one's well-being does not hinge on any single event or person. It does not hinge on any single thing. It does not hinge at all! This feeling stemmed from my realization of the fact that an all-loving God is good. As the Bible states, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." ^{Gen. 1:31.}

If we yearn to love God more, we will find incentive in the Bible promise "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God." ^{Rom. 8:28.} Loving God brings harmony into our lives. "Great commandment" living is not difficult, unrealistic, or a trying stretch of the affections. It is, in fact, great living! Attainable. Possible. Now.