Love the Lord your God

Mt. 22:37-39

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus is emphasizing love, especially love over works since He is conversing with those who are trying to test Him. He says that I must love God with all that I have, my heart, soul, and mind. When I think of my heart, I think of my desires, emotions, and longings, the center of all the things that I treasure. My soul would be my spiritual center where I would need to be aligned with the love of God and not a foolish and inept idol of man. Finally, my mind speaks to me of all that I think about, my dreams, my thoughts, and my understanding. All of these areas have a great potential for failure since my flesh is motivated by selfishness and not love. Jesus goes on to say that I should love my neighbor as myself which is even more impossible than the first commandment.

What I really think Jesus is saying is that this is not a task or something that I must tackle, it is a lifestyle that is made a reality through the power that dwells in me. Jesus gives the blueprint for life, and along with it comes the power to live out that plan. It is not presented as a huge to-do list, but as an opportunity for His grace to be made perfect in my weakness. In my flesh, these commandments are an impossibility, but in the power of God, all things are possible. If I am dependent on Him, He can transform my selfishness to love by making my heart's treasure be Him, by conforming my mind to the Truth, and by creating a burning passion in my soul that is fueled by His love. Once my heart, soul, and mind are dependent on Him, then I can love Him and others.

Father,

Take away my self-sufficiency and transform it to God dependency. Conform my heart, mind, and soul to Your love so that I might be obediently loving You and others.

In Jesus name,

Amen