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Monday, September 9, 2019

ALL, ALL, ALL {Matthew 22:37-40; 23:23-24}

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There are only 2 great commandments.  How difficult can this be?  Well, it really is quite difficult for the majority of us.  Why?  Because they are the hardest to live by.

As I began looking into more about these verses, I kept praying that the Lord would lead me to what I needed to learn and change about myself.  And I hate to say it, but these commandments are really difficult.  You see, I can easily find myself distracted by everyday tasks only to find myself too tired to spend time with the Lord.  Or I can sit down in my prayer corner and discover I’ve spent far too much time on Facebook, and I need to get out of the chair and get ready for work.   Or how about the time I’ve spent thinking about something, well maybe it’s more like worrying about something or someone instead of praying about it/them.  Or the time someone gets under my skin!

How can we love the Lord with ALL our hearts, soul and mind?  We first have to ask ourselves where our affections lie.  What occupies our time?  What motivates our actions?  And what shapes our aspirations and their reward?  Affections wait to be captured.  They long to cling to someone or something.  Wherever these affections are found, so our hearts will be.

The devotion of our hearts is determined by whatever we find value as our greatest treasure.  Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be.”  Jesus just gave us the answer to how to love God with ALL our hearts.  The heart loves what it treasures!  Repeat that.  The heart loves what it treasures!

In order for the heart to love Jesus completely, it has to treasure Him supremely.  Our affections are the outcome of what we truly treasure.  When we truly encounter the Lord in His glory and worth, loving Him with ALL our hearts will be the end result.  We need to be like Paul in Philippians 3:8 and make Jesus the treasure of our life.  The loss of everything else is nothing compared to gaining Christ.

Have you ever had a moment (hopefully you’ve had many) where you are saturated in love?  I know I have, and what’s even greater is the desire to share it.  You know it’s undeserved, yet you are utterly, overwhelmingly loved and it’s overflowing so much, you cannot contain it.  This summer began this way for me as I started each day in the gospels. 

But what about those dry moments?  What causes them?  2 Corinthians 4:6-7 reminds us to spend time with the Lord and let His light shine in our hearts.  It’s only through the persistent gaze on the face of the Lord and His glory do the streams of light pierce our hearts with the same power and force that keeps the Seraphim consumed before His throne (Rev. 4:8). 

Do you long to “feel” love?  Ask the Lord to be your ultimate treasure and ask Him to give you the power to do so!  And open your bible and let those words come to life. 

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