Scripture:
Love the Lord with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind.
–Matthew 22:37
Observation:
God is asking, or actually commanding, us to love Him completely, in every way.
Application:
“Wait, what? He is COMMANDING us to love Him?! What’s that about?” you might be thinking.
Sure, it sounds kinda self-centered and like it is from someone who needs a little too much affirmation.
But stop and think about it.
He is providing so much for us. And all He asks in return is love and trust. That’s it. That’s really it.
Because when you truly love, you want to be with someone, you want to serve that person, you subscribe to their beliefs and thoughts and want to live life together with them. And, when there are questions and frustrations and maybe disagreements, you still love and work those issues out, listening to them, going to them about those issues.
In addition to sharing the way we are to live our lives, and giving us a command to love Him, I think this verse is also telling us a lot about love.
He is telling us that love is a choice. It’s not just an oogly googly happy butterfly feeling or attraction, it is conscious. When it is true, it is a decision that takes thought and effort. If it was only something that just happened, then how could he command us to do it?
Prayer:
Father God,
Love is not always easy. But when it is true, it is a force to be reckoned with.
You know that. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Thank you for seeking a true relationship with each of us, a true love relationship where we want to understand you, talk with you, spend time with you and serve you. You don’t want empty promises, you want true love.
And thank you, Lord, for showing us that love is a choice we make.
Please guide me in acting in love– towards you and towards those in my family and towards others around me whom I love and whom you love. (Isn’t that everyone, then?)
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I hope you have a great day. Thanks for reading.
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