"... you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30) Every aspect of our being is to be dedicated to the goal of loving God. Heart, soul, mind and strength, Jesus says. I say that it's a "goal" very deliberately. There are many people who speak of their love for God as if it's a given; something carved in stone. "I love God," they say - as if that's the end of the story. Case closed. I've done it. But - really? With "ALL" your heart and soul and mind and strength? ALL? That's a pretty big order! That implies a complete and total and unconditional surrender of every aspect of one's entire life to God - every corner of our lives; no questions asked and no conditions placed. I'm not sure that I've ever come across a person who's done that perfectly - and I know for a fact that I haven't. This type of complete and unconditional surrender of every aspect of one's life is a goal to shoot for; it's not a state that's easily achievable - so we should be careful before we glibly say things like "I love God" or "I love Jesus." Yes. Perhaps. But how far are you willing to take that? I wonder what loving God to the extent that Jesus asks actually looks like? If we could truly love God with "all" our heart, soul, mind and strength - how would that love show itself? Simply, I would say that it's manifested not in piety but in service. We love God by loving others - unconditionally. That is a tough act. Again - I don't personally know anyone who's pulled that off perfectly, if by "love" we're talking actual "agape," self-giving love.Have I truly emptied myself for the sake of others. I have to admit - I haven't. I'm too concerned about my future security and the security of my family to actually fully and completely empty myself. So I make no claim to having loved God with "all" my heart, soul, mind and strength. I recognize it as a goal - an ideal to shoot for. I hope I grow closer to doing it each day. And I claim the grace of God for my failure to achieve that standard perfectly.
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