March 26
“And He said to him, ‘”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 foremost commandment.’” (Matthew 22:37-38)
We have just skimmed the surface of this highest of all commandments, the greatest of all goals. We have touched on what it looks like to love the Lord and some suggestions for improving in this crucial area. We looked at how our love can grow cold. We explored how we can evaluate ourselves, even in the busyness of Christian service, to see whether or not we have left our first love. We looked at demonstrating our love for Christ by how we keep His commandments.
Loving the Lord with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength is the greatest commandment of all. We should always be striving to keep that at the forefront of our lives. All of our service for Him is directed toward fulfilling this goal. All our efforts to overcome temptation are ultimately efforts to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul. The more we love Him, the more we will be concerned about His interests and His honor, and the more we will be willing to die to ourselves and live holy lives for Him.
There are many distractions competing for our hearts’ affections. We all stumble in many ways. The crucial thing is that we get up and keep trying, that we keep pursuing Him, keep praying to Him, keep seeking him no matter how dead or cold or lifeless or sinful we may feel. Never let sin deceive you; if you are walking in disobedience to His Word, you are not walking in love for Christ, no matter many good feelings you may have about Christ. If you want Christ to have “good feelings” about you, take His Word seriously and keep His commandments.
Renew your love for the Lord today. Don’t wait; don’t delay. Repent of your hardness of heart, your selfish motives, your going through the motions. Cry out to Him and ask Him to give you a new heart, a heart of love for Him, a heart of compassion for others, a heart that is humble, a heart that is sensitive to His leading and obedient to His voice.
Ask Him to change you into an excited child of God who delights to just be with Him and serve Him for who He is, not for what we get out of it. Repent of your indifference, self-deception, and disobedience. Ask Him to help you break out of your cold, tired, and self-absorbed shell and be zealous for Him all your remaining days.
There is no greater pursuit in all this world, and no greater reward than Him!