“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”
–Luke 10:27
Really, Lord? Because we know our hearts, and they are deceitful above all things. Our souls are constantly warring with the flesh. Strength, to us, is less preferable than weakness in you. And our minds? Our minds are so easily led astray.
It seems like our ability to love God is measly and miserable. To do so with our whole person seems to add up to very little.
Praise the Lord that He is glorified by and delights in our love- even if our love is far from perfect!
So loving is He that:
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He Guards the HEART We Are to Love Him With
Though our hearts are wild and rebellious, the Lord guards them. He works to protect our hearts from further corruption. He is intent on giving us pure hearts, washing them clean through Christ. Scripture also says He replaces our hearts of stone with hearts with hearts of flesh.
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He Redeems the SOUL So That We Can Love Him Personally
Apart from Christ, we would have no way to love God in a personal relationship. But He, in loving us, sent His son to die for us. He made a way for our souls to be reconciled to Him eternally. Because of that, our wretched souls are counted free. We are called His friends and His children –and forgiven.
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He Gives us the STRENGTH to Love Him Always
Does it take strength to love God? Ask anyone who’s betrayed Him or sinned against Him. So, ask anyone. There is nothing in us courageous enough to perfectly stand up against the world and all of sin and say “I love God more.” But He, He can makes us able. He makes a way out of temptation. He gives us endurance and His Spirit to keep us from sin and help us to lovingly glorify Him even when we are weak.
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He Renews Our MIND to Love Him More Fully
Romans 12:2 tells us that if we are to live according to His Will, and even to know His Will, we are to have our minds renewed. We are to see everything in light of Him and understand ourselves, our lives, our decisions, etc., according to our newness in Christ. This complete changing of the mind to fit with His enables to love Him because it enables us to know Him.
What love is this, friends!? Our Lord loves us enough to make a way for us to love Him despite our corrupt version of love. A precious gift.
This post is being shared on: #TestimonyTuesday, #RaRaLinkup, #Intentionally Pursuing, #WomenWithIntention, and #TellHiStory
Beautiful! It seems love is on my mind this week…. Not the “love” you can pick up at Walmart, but God’s LOVE. Lord, help me to show more of Your love to others! Blessings!
Well said Bethany! Thank you for sharing this wonderful reminder of God’s undeserved love I love all of these reminders; they are all a blessing and I thank my Savior for His love. What a wonderful Lord we serve! Blessed to find you on Intentional Tuesday. Have a wonderful week and may God richly bless you and yours!
God’s love for us truly is beyond amazing. I hadn’t thought about the truth that He guards the hearts we’re meant to love Him with. I have never considered that! 🙂 He’s so amazing. Not only does He love us with abandon, no matter what. He makes us able to love Him. Beautiful post, Bethany!
God’s love is such a gift… a gift beyond measure. Yet, how often I take it for granted. Thank you for the precious reminders today of His love and how He enables us to love Him. Following you at Holly’s today. So thankful I am!
God’s love is amazing! Forever and always! Thank you for this post and happy to have found you at Testimony Tuesday! God bless you this week.