“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.’” – Matthew 22:37
It’s always a good time to do a Great Commandment check. As 2022 comes to a close and 2023 lies ahead, how are you doing at loving God with ALL (that’s 100%!) your heart? ALL your soul? ALL your mind?
Are you excited about God and getting to know Him more fully and experience Him more richly? Or is your heart much more excited about holiday parties, Christmas presents, travel, or loved ones you’ll soon see?
Are you excited about growing more like Jesus? Are you putting enormous amounts of energy into that particular transformation or are you putting your energy into other kinds of self-improvement or self-indulgence?
Are you nourishing, nurturing, and feeding your soul in Christ with a healthy diet of Scripture, prayer, worship, service, community, and sharing Christ with others? Are you taking time every day to think about God, His nature, His attributes, and His works? To praise Him? To thank Him?
Are you developing your mind and intentionally studying the Bible on your own and with others, learning more about the things of God that you can put to use to advance the Kingdom of God? Or are you content to let your faith be an emotional experience with limited investment by your intellect?
Is your love for God absolute or does it heat up and cool down based on what you feel like He’s done for you lately? Does your love for God depend on whether you feel His presence and activity or is it based on the unchanging truth of Scripture?