“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.”
— D.L. Moody
— D.L. Moody
Something I have been dwelling on of late is the Scripture where it says,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
-Deuteronomy 6:5
What does this mean? I used to think that I loved the Lord with all my heart; I believed I was following Him… but the older I get, the more I realize how I love myself with all my heart. How each time I have to choose between “me” and “Him,” I don’t even have to try and “me” has won. From waking up in the morning to have my quiet time, to responding graciously when someone says something I disagree with.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:14,15:
“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
I have been challenged by the Word… I have been challenged by Jesus. I say I am a Christian – a follower of Christ, but indeed, how much of Christ is in me? And what I mean by that is how much of His Nature do I resemble? Am I walking according to Christ, or am I walking according to the flesh?
I find myself constantly walking according to the flesh. And it’s so easy to do in this day and age. Satan comes like Jacob did with Esau and tempts us with a ‘mess of pottage’ (Gen. 25). He lures us with something we can see and ENJOY; something that will satisfy my nagging carnal nature that is at war with my soul (1 Pet. 2:11)…
My pastor challenged us a few weeks ago from Romans 12, where the caption in my Bible reads, “BEHAVE LIKE A CHRISTIAN”, and the text goes on to say:
“Let love be without hypocrisy.
Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love…
…not lagging in diligence, FERVENT IN SPIRIT, serving the Lord…”
- Romans 12:9-11
It’s a powerful Scripture. But its more powerful when it’s wielded by the Holy Spirit; when He shows you how your love is with hypocrisy; how easily we (and I mean ‘I’!) become offended with the Body and close our hearts, and walk in bitterness and unforgiveness, yet greet them and smile and pretend like we’re on good terms. Is that brotherly love?
And I realized that day, if I have not made a conscious and ACTIVE decision every day to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, then I will never love my brothers and sisters; my love for God spills over into His Body… which is exactly what John writes to us in his first epistle:
“If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
- 1 John 4:20-21
When I see Jesus and how He actively loved me, it changes my perspective. He bore my sins in His Body; when I look in the mirror of the Word and see how I went about Him, and realize that even when I nailed Him to the cross in calloused indifference, He beseeched the Father on my behalf: “Father forgive them!” (Luke 23:34) And yet when my brother or sister is indifferent towards me, I not only judge, but hate in return! Shucks. Am I walking in the footsteps of Christ? Am I loving Him with all I have, and following after Him?
How often do we hear the words of our Master quoted to us:
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
- Matthew 16:24
But do we really consider what that means? To “deny yourself”?
I’m learning that to ‘deny myself’ is not to quit my job and walk in the wilderness seeking Him; it is not a fanatical life of extremes, but it’s where the ‘rubber meets the road’ in our daily lives and we have to choose: me, or Him? Offense, or forgiveness? To “bear THEIR sins in MY body” like Christ did for me? (1 Peter 3:24)
Do I love the Lord with all my heart, soul, strength and mind?
I see Jesus, and my heart convicts me: “No.”
But my desire is to put on His Sandals and to deny myself. To learn to love Him by loving those around me.
‘Lord, teach me to love you! To love your Body the way I love myself.’
I want to “Cross Over” to no longer live for MYSELF, but Him who died for me. To take on HIS Nature and shed mine at His feet… to love Him with ALL my heart…
