Love...

Love.
What a powerful word!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.
Psalms 91:14 “He set his love upon me.”
John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man.”
1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear: because fear has torment.”
God’s greatest commandment found in Matthew 22:37 Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. “
What is your heart set on? Is it on set on our own desires or on the things of God? Examine yourself. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning or when you have a free afternoon?
What are your passions? Do they derive from selfish motivations or do they come from a Godly nature?
Secondly, God mentions our soul. This is our inner most being. 1 Corinthians 22:19 “Set your soul to seek the Lord. “ That sounds like we have a choice. God does not desire robots. He wants us to turn to him for everything in our lives. An amazing phenomenon is that when we give ourselves to God he gives us back so much more. What he gives us far exceeds what we can offer within ourselves.
Often I believe that people hesitate to give God too much because they will loose themselves. That is such a trick from the Devil. We give God our limitations, sinful nature and filthy rags and then he give us royal robes along with gifts, talents, knowledge and wisdom.
Lastly Jesus mentions our mind the window to our heart and soul. This is the place where our knowledge and thoughts lays, where we process the information given to us during the day, where we make decisions, and future plans.
Through our mind we can let situations affect our heart and soul. What are we entertaining? Are we entertaining doubt, anger, lusts and those things that can harm us or are we entertaining God’s word and those things that are righteous? The very literature we read, the media we view, the conversations we have and our motivations can plant seeds that will harm us or prosper us.
Try to get a picture of what your heart, mind and soul look like today. Is it a reflection of the world or is it a reflection of Jesus? 1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
Love is the gift that is offered to us first by God through his son Jesus so that we can then love others. The second part of the greatest commandment is Matthew 22:38 it says “ the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Let’s examine ourselves today what are we reflecting?
I John 4:18 “Love with a pure heart.”

- Carolyn Hanneman