There were a number of short pithy statements of Jesus to ponder this morning. I didn’t know which one to choose. Eventually I felt drawn to the first half of the greatest commandment. Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ (37).
All heart… total, absolute devotion to God. Thinking of God throughout the day, passionately wondering how I might please God now and being concerned about that all the time.
All soul… Taking the soul to be that place of life-centering; loving with all soul would entail complete disavowing of any other centering focus, whether career or play or even relationships. God would be the all in all that breathes life into my life.
All mind… buckling down and attending to the things of God and the words of God with a passion and determination that drives continual learning. Putting more effort into knowing God through God’s Word than any other field of study, even those which drive our careers.
As I write this, I realize how impossible it is to be totally God focused and passionate.As I move to my morning devotion, I realize how short I fall of this command.
I don’t even come close to loving God with all heart and mind and soul… not even close!
Lord, I truly am saved by grace, I cannot come close to keeping this one command and I haven’t even considered the other side of the great command…loving neighbor.
Jesus, Father, Spirit, I call out to you… save me. Amen
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