โ๐ช๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐.โ ๐ญ ๐๐ผ๐ต๐ป ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ต
The Bible commands us to love God, โYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mightโ (Deuteronomy 6:5). This is the greatest commandment that Jesus pointed out to the Pharisees (Matthew 22:34-38).ย
๐๐ง๐ช๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐, ๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ซ๐ค๐ก๐ซ๐๐จ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ – โwith all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.โ It is whole-hearted and life-encompassing.
This may sound too lofty and humanly unattainable, but โWe love because God first loved usโ (1 John 4:19). Loving God with our everything is made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ that gave way to Godโs love being poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). ๐๐ง๐ช๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐๐ค๐, โ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐๐ค๐โ (1 ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฃ 4:7). ๐ผ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ช๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐.
๐๐ง๐ช๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ค๐ ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ค๐ง๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฎ โ these are not mutually exclusive. John Piper puts it succinctly: โLoving God will include obeying all His commands; it will include believing all His word; it will include thanking Him for all His gifts. But all that is overflow. The essence of loving God is admiring and enjoying all He is. And it is this enjoyment of God that makes all of our other responses truly glorifying to Him.โ
People are seeking happiness in all the wrong places outside of God. What many people fail to realize is that the purest enjoyment is found in God alone. ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ช๐จ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐ก๐ฎ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐ฃ๐๐ (๐๐จ๐๐ก๐ข 16:11).
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ค๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป:
1. Do I truly love God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my might?
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ:
๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ง๐, ๐ข๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ค๐ ๐ข๐.
โHelp me to discern between true and false love, the one consisting of supreme love to Thee,
the other not,ย the former uniting Thy glory and manโs happiness that they may become one common interest,ย the latter disjointing and separating them both, seeking the latter with neglect of the former. Grant me grace to distinguishย between the genuine and the false,
and to rest in Thee who art all love.โ Amen.
(Prayer excerpt from: Love Rest in God, The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan prayers and devotions)