How to Love and How Much to Love
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
God is love. There is absolutely no one who loves you more than God. His love is not like man’s love for He loves you unconditionally. You are always on His mind and nothing can separate you from His love. The LORD your God desires to be loved as well. In this scripture, He tells us how and how much He wants us to love Him. With every fiber of our being, He wants all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds to be focused on loving Him. Is that to say that you can’t love anyone else or even yourself, certainly not! It is, however, to say that your love should not be greater for others and the things of this world more than your love for Him. Love for God must come from the heart. The heart represents all your inward affections. Your attitude toward Him should be that of love. Proverbs tells of diligently guard our hearts. Why? From the heart, flows the springs of life. Love is life and everyone wants and needs to be loved, so does God. Without it, people soon give up and die. Your soul is your mind, will, and emotions. Love the LORD your God with you soul. You must will your will to love God emotionally and demonstratively without shame or being apologetic. Your soul includes your mind. Notice that the mind is mentioned again. Here one of the benefits of loving the LORD is expressed. Loving Him with all you mind refers to your thought life. He says to think about His attributes, which are true, honest, just and righteous, pure, lovely and good. He is Jehovah Shalom, the God of Peace. When you keep your mind steadfastly focused on Him, He will give you His peace and He will be with you. Loving God is one of the two great commandments that sum up the law of the prophets.
Scripture References: I John 4:16; Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:39; Proverbs 4:23; Romans 1:16; Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:8-9
Prayer for today: Father, I willingly will my heart, soul, and mind to love you as you desire to be loved. Thank you for loving me unconditionally, in spite of my shortcomings. In JESUS name, AMEN.
Whatever you must do today, there is a grace for that. Accept the grace and make it a sweatless day.
Love
Dianne
