Learning DAILY

 

Matthew 22:37, Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

 

“I love you”.  Have you really considered what that statement can mean?  When I say I love you to my wife or family is the same thing as saying I love some kind of food or when I say I love to watch basketball?  I know – that does not make sense.  But, think for a moment how easily that phrase about love is spoken so easily.  Thinking back over the years I have been married, I can see that my definition of love has changed several times.  Changes and age have helped me see what I believe to be the true meaning of love.

 

I have shared this before.  “I asked Jesus how much He loved me.  He said, ‘This much.’  And He spread His arms out and died for me.” 

 

The question today is how much do I (you) love Him!  To test Him, Jesus was asked by a lawyer (a teacher of the Law of Moses) which commandment was the greatest.  “Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”   Mark and Luke add the word “strength” to the answer Jesus gave.  Jesus was saying that we are to love God with all the powers and capacities of the soul, the will, the understanding, and all the affections within us.  This love involves the affections of the heart; in other words, God is so treasured and valued that we long to fellowship with Him.  Our love for Him causes us to be obedient to Him and to want to honor and bring glory to Him each day.  Heart, soul, mind, and strength represent the whole person.  Notice the mind is included because loving the Lord is done with the intellect as well as the heart and soul.  That’s why reading and studying the Bible is so important; it gives knowledge of who God.  As we get to know and understand Him intellectually, we begin to fear (become in awe of) Him (Proverbs 1).  Our love for the Lord must be a passionate and the dominating love inspired by His love for us.  He loves you and me so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins and stupidity.

 

Can we love and walk with God in this manner?  The answer is no and yes.  Huh?  No, we cannot do so in our fallen state - it is utterly impossible to love God as Jesus said to love Him.  In man’s fleshly state, he has no true love for God; man has enmity (hostility) against God and everything that is divine and good and belongs to Him.  Look at what is happening in our country and around the world.  Those who want nothing to do with God or the things of God are going crazy.  There is no respect for others!  It is a world of what is yours is now mine and I am going to take it.  We are seeing enmity towards everything that is godly and righteous.

 

 Yes, it is possible but only through the grace He offers through His Son.  When He is accepted as Savior the Holy Spirit begins to work within your heart, soul, and mind to produce the fruit of love for God that you previously did not have.  When you begin to love God in this way, it naturally follows that you begin to love others the way God loves you.  It is obvious that the world needs the love of God! 

 

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