“Jesus answered, ‘The most important [commandment] is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And 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 12:29-30)
To love God with all your heart means to love God with all of your feelings, with all of your emotions and with all your passion.
Now, passion is a very hot term in our contemporary culture. People are always asking, “What’s your passion?” What they’re really asking you is what is it that really gets your heart racing? What is it that makes you excited to get up each day?
It could be a certain ideology, social cause, or politics. Perhaps it’s a passion for theater, movies, or music. Or It could be making money, physical fitness, or watching college football. You can be passionate about a lot of things, but the number one passion of your life should be your relationship with God.
Think about your relationship with God this way: When you first came to Christ there was no problem in feeling passionate about God. You had a hunger for the Word, to be in worship, and to tell others about Christ. You were excited about it and there was a very real passion there. But as time went by and life presented its many challenges and opportunities, it became easy for other things to take a higher priority. And if we’re more passionate about anything else than our relationship with God, then our priorities are simply out of whack.
Prayer
Lord, keep our lives centered in you, that we may maintain that passion and love for you with all our heart. Create our passion for relationships with others for the sake of the Gospel. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
