Love God, Love Others

In Matthew 22, the Pharisees were trying to test Jesus, asking Him, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Jesus responds: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength~ this is the first and greatest commandment. Love others~ this is the second commandment (Love your neighbor as yourself). These are to be the theme of a believer’s life; marked by loving God with all that we are and loving others as we love ourselves.

What does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? I am going to take some time to explain each of these four areas, so we have more understanding to their significance in our lives.

Our heart speaks to our emotions and feelings. Some examples of our emotions or feelings are: love, joy, peace, fear, worry, anxiety, bitterness, anger, selfishness, happiness, sadness, depression, unforgiveness, rage, pride, greed, revenge, patience, etc. How do you express love to God? How do you respond to circumstances, interruptions, or people? We need to purposely set our hearts to be filled with love for God. It doesn’t just happen. Cry out, like Moses, in Exodus 33:13, “If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways, so I may know (love) You and continue to find favor with You.”

God sees the “yes” in your heart to obey Him, to really know Him and come away with Him. Spend time with God to have Him reveal the nature of your heart. You may think everything is fine with your heart and then one small insignificant run-in or interruption of your day sets off something within you. Notice these bumps along the way. Take care of your heart. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” We need to tend our heart. It is like a garden. Pull any weeds and till for any bitter roots that have taken ground in the soil of your heart. If there is any repentance or forgiveness needed, do not let time linger…the longer you wait, the deeper the roots or bigger the weeds grow and the harder it is to pull them out.

Q: Ask God to reveal any areas of your heart that are hurting or wounded. Give those areas to God to heal. Are your heart affections set on Jesus? How do you seek to love God with all your heart? Ask God to show you the ways you are setting your gaze upon Him.

The soul speaks to our personality. Personality is expressed in what you say and how you act; words and action. People know us by our personality, which is the reflection of our soul. “She is so happy all the time”, “He is so grumpy”, “Did you hear the way he spoke to his child?”, etc. To make our love for God grow more deeply, we must determine to express our personality by speaking and acting in a way that makes our love for God grow. Again, this is intentional. Proverbs is full of godly advice to put a guard on our mouth. “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips,” (Psalm 141:3). Let our words and action line up with loving God.

Q: How do people describe your personality? Do those descriptions line up with one who loves God with all your soul? How can you purposefully set your soul to grow in love with God?

The mind speaks to our thought-life and what we allow our mind to dwell on. To love God with all our mind means to resist putting anything in our minds that diminishes our love for Jesus. We want to fill our minds with things that are “true, noble, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy”, Philippians 4:8. We need to spend time in God’s presence to maintain victory over our mind. What is it that you allow your mind to dwell on? We have many obstacles that keep us from meditating on those things that are true, pure, noble, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. The battleground is in our minds. Build a fortified wall around your mind to keep the enemy from taking any foothold. It is time we start thinking about what we are thinking about!

Q: What are some obstacles that keep you from meditating on the beauty of Jesus? What is it that your mind dwells on? Worry, selfish ambition, greed, friends, internet games, social media, pornography, television or movies.

Use the 4:8 test with your mind meditations: Is what I am thinking about:
· True~ God’s Word
· Pure~ Innocent
· Noble~ Worthy of respect
· Lovely~ Anything that calls forth love
· Admirable~ Of good reputation
· Excellent or praiseworthy~ Commendable

Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks, so he is.” Every thought has an emotion connected to it. So the heart and mind are linked together, and then the expression of that comes through our personality (soul).

Loving God with our strength means that I use my resources for God’s Glory and His purpose. Our resources (strength) are: time, money, talents, influence, and reputation. The culture and our flesh want to use our strength for its own purpose. We show love to God when we use our strengths for His Kingdom. Each one of us has these strengths in differing measures. For whose kingdom am I using my resources?

Q: Honestly look at each of the following resources. Ask God how you can love Him with your strength.

· Time: What is my schedule centered around?
· Money: Who determines how I spend my money? Do I see each financial decision as a spiritual one?
· Talents: What talents has God given me? Do I recognize that He is the one who gave these to me? How am I using these talents?
· Influence: How am I influencing those in my “circle”? Am I leading these people in my influence closer to Jesus or away from Him?
· Reputation: Am I pursing popularity, prestige, position, or power? How does God view my reputation?

If we love God in these four areas, we will more easily love others. When our vertical connection with God is in order, the horizontal connections with people will be in order. Each one of us has influences in our neighborhoods, work, community, family. People are watching. When I say I am a believer or follower of Jesus or Christian, I want my life (actions) to line up with my words. Jesus is the only hope to the world and we are His expression on planet earth.

In the Garden~ a Life of Prayer

I have recently read a book about Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), a woman who was called Teresa of Jesus because of her passionate love for her Savior. She speaks about her life of God in an analogy & I am going to share straight from her analogy.

She speaks about her life of God in an analolgy of a garden already planted, but one in which the plants will die unless they are tended and watered carefully. Nurturing can be done in 4 ways:
1) there is the laborious work of carefully drawing water from the well, 2) slightly easier method of using a waterwheel and buckets, 3) a stream runs through the garden, saturating the ground from beneath, & 4) rain~ the natural source of water; it comes from heaven above.

The beginner in prayer toils, fetching water from the well. The effort is entirely his, as he attempts to fill the bucket with water and replenish the flowers of the garden. The privelege of seeing the arid land blossom will produce humility and endurance that will cause his soul to richly prosper.

In the second stage, the gardener uses a waterwheel & buckets. He can draw more water for the garden than before with much less effort if the long hours required do not become wearisome. This second stage can be a time of trial, when weeding & pruning is being done to the soul. Effort is still necessary, but the place of striving eases and receptivity is better understood.

The third stage of prayer is when the Lord is more active, providing water by a spring or stream running through the garden. There is now no question of turning back, the delight is too sweet; it is a glorious folly, a heavenly madness in which true wisdom is acquired. This is when "mary & martha" are in perfect harmony, though not yet entirely absorbed into God. The soul is free from worries and becomes content. God is now the gardener and the supply of water is abundant.

The last stage of the call to prayer is where the garden is watered by rain and the gardener has nothing to do but to watch the flowers grow. The rain brings a union about from Heaven itself. Here you know God. The sensation is of an exceeding great and sweet delight. The story of an intimate friendship with God; this is the inner courts of the Lord. This authentic inward journey should lead to empowered outward works (where "mary & martha" are wedded together).