Dr. Paul Wee, a staff member of the Lutheran World Federation, recalls standing at the bedside of dying archbishop, Janis Matulis, of Latvia. A visitor had just sung, at Matulis' request, an old spiritual with the words, "Oh, when I am alone, when I am alone, give me Jesus." Matulis then asked those around his bed:

"Do you know why this song means so much to me? Three times war passed over Latvia, killing two-fifths of our people. They burned down my church and destroyed Bibles and hymnals. They took away my wife, and I never saw her again. When it was all gone, I realized that I had nothing else in this world but Jesus Christ. [That realization] was like a breath of freedom. From that moment on, I learned how to use whatever came my way--little bits of medicine left over, a piece of coal, apples, spices--so that somehow the sacrament of God's love would be shared with the larger community because of Jesus Christ." 

That's what happens when we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves. We come to a new understanding of who Christ is.