Garden of your heart

"You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind.  This is the great and first commandment."  Matthew 22:37-38 

Since yesterday's blog this verse and vs 39 which we will talk about tomorrow have been flooding my mind.  I have been thinking that in order to love others, we need to love God first and foremost.   If we do not love the most holy, righteous, loving and merciful God, how can we love imperfect people?  Now, most of us would say "I do love God" and I believe them.  But let's take a little deeper look.  Loving God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind.  Basically this is saying with everything that we have, with all our thoughts, our hearts desires, the most deep places of our lives, our actions, our tongue, etc........we love Him with all these things.  As I think about that, I realize how I fall short.  If I loved God with all my heart, soul and mind, then I would not think critical thoughts of others, or say that unkind word to my husband when I get stressed, or desire to have that material item that I don't need, or the deepest place of my heart would always be fully devoted to Him at all times.  So,  as I look at it this way, I am realizing, I have so much work in the area of love.  I don't feel defeated, but feel encouraged to really learn how to make love for God and others my goal.  So often, I try "fitting in" loving others into my time.  It should be our very purpose for living.  It says in I John that they will know that we are Christians by our love.  It not only shows love to God (John 14:15..if you love me you will keep my commandments), it ministers to our brothers and sister in the Lord, and identifies us as the family of God. 

So...how are you doing today?  Are you like me and can work on loving God more?  Could you love him with all your heart, soul and mind in a greater way?  It starts with spending time with Him every day in prayer and reading His word.  I am going to choose to work on loving God more with my mind today.  Thinking those thoughts that are pleasing to God, loving to God and others, focused on godly things, not selfish, critical or negative thoughts.  How about you?

Tomorrow we will look at the next verse in this passage.   Have a blessed day!