WITH ALL YOUR HEART & MORE

“And you shall 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, ESV)

It is so easy to claim to love the Lord with your heart, but with how much of your soul? How much of your mind reflects on His word and how much of your strength (physical and financial) are you willing to commit to serving Him? How do you prioritize your time, energy and life-focus?

In our text, our Lord Jesus commands us as Christian to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. It means that we are to give all to Him and He in turn will determine how much we commit to other things and to what other things we do actually commit the rest of our being. This means that we are to place the Lord first and seek to please Him in all things, thus fulfilling this first aspect of the most important commandment God has given us!

When a believer’s lifestyle choices are such that leaves him or her too busy, too tired, or too stressed to find the time, energy, or quietness of mind to sit at the Lord’s feet to reflect on His word, there is a clear misunderstanding of what is of real importance (Luke 10:38-42). If you truly understand the nature and the value of the relationship you have with God in Christ, you will make time to spend time with Him and commit to Him totally!

The “busy Christian” who, like Martha, is preoccupied and busy with many other things is a picture of one who has lost focus of what really counts. God is not interested in mere heart commitments that have no impact on our priorities. Giving to Him the left-overs of your strength and soul is far from proving your loyalty and love to Him.

Love the Lord and serve Him with all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength! Genuine love will produce faithful commitment and it will not be a struggle. It will be by grace!

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