With All Your Heart
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July 06, 2014 |
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 "And [Jesus] said to him, '"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets'" (Matthew 22:37-40).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
Those who have a clear goal and dream in life have patience, perseverance and do their very best. When they achieve their goals, it guarantees the accomplishment of fame and material possessions. It is the same among believers.Those who are filled with the hope of Heaven unsparingly invest their time, possessions, and their very lives in doing the Lord's work. With all their hearts they love God and devote themselves.
According to the words of the Lord Jesus we are to love God and our neighbors with all our hearts, but what kind of love is this and what does it really mean?
To love God with all your heart is to accomplish goodness.
If we love God with all our heart, we will unceasingly examine our words and deeds. We will continue to change ourselves, checking whether our words were good and our thoughts were proper in God's sight. We can check how much goodness we have accomplished in our hearts by answering just a few questions.
Do you seek the benefit and advantage of others first, or do you seek your own first? When others prosper, do you rejoice as much as you would in your own works, or do you speak begrudgingly of others saying, "That person lacks in this and that aspect, so why is she so prosperous?" Do you lose heart? When someone causes you a hard time, is your peace of heartbroken?
Such people cannot be said that they long for the goodness of God even if they have listened to many messages and long for the grace. We have to meditate on the word heard and make every effort to become a person of goodness. This is how we have a true longing for spirit and love God with all our hearts.
There is one more thing for us to remember. God's criterion of judgment is different from human criterion. Exodus 15:26 tells us that we should do righteousness not in our eyes but in God's eyes. The goodness that people recognize is different from God-recognized goodness.
Some people look meek and polite to everyone, but may disregard others in heart. When somebody else's educational viewpoint conflicts with their own, they may consider him or her as being uneducated and impolite and close their hearts toward the person. Some others have introspective characters and don't like having disputes with others, so they don't insist on their own opinions and tend to follow others' advice. But it happens only because of their personality. They don't serve others from their heart. They may think, "It seems that I always lose out in making peace with others," and their ill feelings such as frustrations and discomfort become worse. They may also have difficulty discovering their evils because they think they served and gave room for benefits of others.
Some people say they are enduring trials, but they cannot do it with joy and thanksgiving. If they pass through persecutions for faith and financial trials with faith, hope and love, then their faces are covered with greater grace. But because they suppress and constrain themselves in their trials, sorrow increases to the extent hard times have passed. Then their faces show gloom and shades of anxiety. They think they have endured well for years, but the door to blessings has not opened as quickly as expected.
Still others appear to be sincere, diligent and sociable. They seem to take on the work of others as though it were their own. They are praised among others, but they have only a little longing for spirit. Like Martha, they have greater interest in their duties than in loving God and becoming sanctified. They think they have goodness and are serving others. They may be deemed to be good by the standards of others and they themselves think they are good, but God does not acknowledge their goodness.
If we want to love God with all our hearts just as Jesus said, we have to seek goodness in every aspect and realize what the goodness of God is and accomplish His goodness.
Secondly, to offer everything to God with all your heart is to accomplish spiritual love.
1 John 4:21 says, "And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also."
Some believers seem to give God what they have with fervor, but do not do anything for other believers. They pray fervently, attend worship services arduously, and dedicate their time and money to God. But they staggeringly lack in considering and looking after the people around them.
They have given God many things they have, but they cannot bear complete fruits of blessing. Of course, they have no intention of doing harm to others or of causing evils toward others. They are just narrow-sighted in considering others and their character of heart is not so great to that extent. So, they may hurt others' hearts and give discomfort to others, though it is not intentional.
Suppose someone has a fervent longing for spirit and diligently prays with fasting. She volunteers for many works and gives substantial offerings to God. But while praying, she does not pray for the souls and the kingdom of God that much. She seems to have a longing for spirit, but she doesn't have a desire to be with the people around her.
Let me give you another example. A mission group divided into smaller groups to clean a large space. One group finished cleaning their part a little earlier than others. The other groups were still cleaning. If she had a broader heart, she would be able to recognize why the other groups have not finished and see the help they need. Those who have only a little spiritual love cannot think as if they were in the other's shoes.
Jesus said in Matthew 22:39, "Love your neighbor as yourself". I ask you to take care of many others with delicate love and broadened hearts. I wish for you to harbor many more souls with love, generosity, and the Father's heart. This is how you can love God with all your heart.
To love the Father with all your heart, thirdly, is to fulfill your God-given duties.
Those who love the Father not only have a godly love in their hearts, but come to express that love outwardly. They come to dedicate themselves to the kingdom of God saying, "What shall I give to my Father? How can I repay this grace?" Even without a title in the church, they may evangelize and take care of other members diligently, and volunteer in church ministries.
But some of them may lose the state of this fervor with the passing of time. Then, they will turn away from the works that are not entrusted to them and want more personal freedom. They seem to perform their outward duties arduously but neglect other duties.
Our God-given duties, big or small, must be performed not in men's sight, but only in God's sight. Duties must not be performed only in deeds but with faith, hope and love and with aroma of the heart. Suppose at the annual election, one desired to be elected as president of his group but became a secretary. If he faithfully serves as secretary with all his heart, he can offer a more beautiful aroma to God. Then, he can rejoice and give thanks simply from the fact that he was entrusted with a title such as secretary or manager. He will pray for and take care of group members, supporting the group president arduously. Suppose someone used to be group president but this year she was not elected as president. She doesn't attend group meetings anymore and no longer serves. It means her former service was not true service.
In every event and activity I ask you to serve not only in the body but also to do it with all your heart for God. Then, you will not perform such works only with the sense of duty. When you serve with faith and love this way, you can become full of grace and the Spirit. This heart of service can be accepted as the fragrance of joy by God.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
God doesn't see the appearances of people. He accepts the fragrance of heart, the aroma of love and reverent fear of Him. Every day, your goodness and love must increase and you must consider your God-given duties as precious. I pray in the name of the Lord that by doing so you will only give glory to God.
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