Daily Devotional for Friday, January 19, 2024
What would you say has been your greatest challenge in life? Getting married? Parenting? Finding the right career? Your health? Your wealth? Your education? Everyday we are hit with some old challenges as well as some new ones.
I looked up on the Internet to get an answer to this question: What are questions that science finds challenging to answer? Here are a few that I found in this link: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/01/20-big-questions-in-science? (1) Why do we dream? (2) Are we alone in the universe? (3) Where does consciousness come from? (4) Is reality real? (5) Is time travel possible? (6) Is the universe really infinite? (7) What really makes us human?
I would have to say for myself, my greatest challenge has been to consistency live out Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:37-40, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.(38) This is the greatest and first commandment. (39) And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (40) On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (ESV).
I don’t know about you, but loving God with with this kind of completeness is challenging. To love God with all our “heart, soul, and mind” is not to imply 3 separate and technical entities or definitions. Jesus means, “Love God with every part of your being.” Yet, what does stand out is not 3 separate definitions, but the consistent pre-words that come “. . . with all your . . .”
Yet, the Old Testament uses “heart” as one’s personal being. We see this in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV). The NLT says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
The Old Testament uses the word “soul” as a reference to emotions.It is the word Jesus used when He cried out in the Garden of Gethsemane the night He was arrested: “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death” (Matt. 26:38).
“Mind” is the Old Testament word that is usually translated “might” in Deuteronomy 6:5. The Hebrew term had a broad connotation and carried the general idea of moving ahead with energy and strength. Mind is used here in the sense of intellectual, willful vigor and determination, carrying both the meaning of mental endeavor and of strength.
What are the implications for us today? Genuine love for God is intelligent, emotional, willing, obedient and serving. This means to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind mean that we are intentional to be thoughtful, sensitive to God’s leading so that every attitude and action is proof of that kind of love.
So, let’s not come to God with careless or empty words, actions, and rituals. God desires us as a person, not what we possess. Just like parents love their children with every ounce of their being, God loves us that way too. This means we should be reciprocal in that kind of love towards Him.
This means that belief is not enough. We saw in last week’s sermon that according to James, even the demons believe but they tremble in fear. When we were younger, we had “crushes” on certain people of the opposite sex. We called it “puppy love.” It was here today and sometimes gone that same day. Genuine faith in Jesus Christ is characterized by an all consuming fiery love for our Lord that is more than just a “crush” or an agreement that He is King of kings and Lord of lords.
This means when God’s word and God’s will does not make sense to us, we trust Him no matter what. You can’t have trust without truth. They go hand-in-hand. The only way to learn to trust God is to be in His Word and to cultivate your relationship to Him through prayer. For example, I “know” who certain people are, but that doesn’t mean I trust them. Why? I don’t really know them. I know more about them, rather than knowing them. We know our children love us when they obey us. What is true with them is true with us also.
So, here are some questions for all of us to consider:
- Does my level and consistency of obedience demonstrate to anyone, myself included, but especially to God, that I truly love Him. How would you answer that?
- Is my relationship to God more based on logic? Do my emotions ever impact how I relate to God? How would you answer this?
- Does my “mind” demonstrate my love for God in that my relationship to God is full of energy and strength, or is it weak and waning?
- When I do come to God, are my prayers/words pitiful or passionate?
- What can you do this week to show that you love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind?
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalm 31:23a, “Love the Lord, all you His saints! The Lord preserves the faithful . . .” (ESV).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I claim I love You. But love is sometimes an overused word. I don’t want to love You like I love a candy bar. I want to love You intimately and passionately with all my heart, with all my soul and with my mind. I want my love for you to be proven through my obedience. I want my love to show I trust You when You and life does not make sense. Since You are Truth, I have no reason to doubt You nor disobey You. God help me to spend more time with You through Your Word and prayer so that I come to love You more in every area of my life, especially my hidden or secret self. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”