Loving God With All You've Got

Matthew 22:36-38

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."

Jesus answered not a disciple who was seeking a deeper truth about understanding what God required of people, but responded to a lawyer who set a trap to tempt Christ. This is the crux of the matter and the kernel of truth: One must love God unreservedly and entirely with the heart, which is the seat of the understanding; the soul, which is the center of will and personality; and, the might, which represents the strength of all the vital corporal powers, both mental & physical. Thus, God wants us to love Him with all that we've got in us (Deut. 6:4-5).

Consider these expressions:

"That was a half hearted effort" means lacking spirit or interest.

"His heart's not in it" means uninterested in something.

A divided heart has torn loyalties. It is pulled in many directions. The Lord wants all of your heart and not most of it, some of it, 89% of it, or a majority of it. He desires ALL of it. The whole stream of our affections, strength, understanding and will must run toward Him.

But, why?

The answer is quite simple: Because that's how God loves us (John 3:16;Rom. 5:8; I John 4:9). He doesn't do anything half way. God does all things well (Mark 7:37).

Here's a secret, of sorts, if you want to know what happens when you love God with all that you've got:

1. By loving God through Jesus Christ, both will come to dwell inside of you through the Holy Spirit (John 14:21, 23; 15:26).

2. Because you're indwelt by the Spirit, you have been set free from sin (John 8:32; Rom. 8:2).

3. There is liberty as a result of the Holy Spirit's indwelling! (II Cor. 3:17)

And it's only a secret because people choose not to know God's word. It's not like He's intentionally hiding His truth from us; on the contrary, we're running from it and by extension from Him, which regretably leaves us loveless; that is, incapable of loving and being loved.

If you're like that lawyer who's looking for a legal loophole then, Friend, you're going about life the wrong way. If, on the other hand, you are sincerely desiring to find a deeper truth, then look no further than this commandment to understand, worship and know God as He is: God IS love.

Read the Scriptures, follow the logic of God's love and trust in His truth. It is important for you to understand who you are (i.e., a sinner) in light of who God is (i.e., holy) and marvel at the wonder of His great mercy at Calvary.

Make no mistake, you are saved by the grace of God and NOTHING ELSE (Rom. 3:28; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-9).

So, if you choose to love God through Jesus Christ with all that you've got then these promises that Christ made to His disciples are the same promises you can take hold of today IF you accept Him as your Lord & Saviour.

Otherwise, you won't possess the joy of the Christ's Spirit inside of you, especially during the dark trials and valleys you're going to encounter in this life. Faith in Christ, dear Reader, and nothing else is the victory (I John 5:4)!

I Need A Victory Today!

To him that overcomes the foe,
White raiment shall be giv’n.
Before the angels he shall know
His name confessed in Heav’n.
Then onward from the hill of light,
Our hearts with love aflame,
We’ll vanquish all the hosts of night,
In Jesus’ conqu’ring Name.

Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory, that overcomes the world.

Acts of Worship

Mark 12:29-31
"And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."

There's a difference between an act of worship and worship. In Mark 12:33, Christ acknowledges that what the scribe said was true: loving God with all the heart, with all understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. You can find this principle working in the Old Testament; in I Sam. 15:22 -

"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."

In Matt.23:26-28, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and scribes. Let's read -

"Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres,which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

What Christ was pointing out was this: There's a BIG difference between an act of worship and worship. Do you know what that difference is? The answer is: It's a matter of the heart, according to what Christ confirmed to the scribe in Mark 12:33.

Jesus also taught that true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:23).


Another way of looking at this question is like this: The difference between an act of worship and worship is the former is just an ACT; that is, the person is acting, pretending to worship. True worship comes from the heart. See I Cor. 13.

Dear Reader, the questions remains: Are you an actor or true worshipper?


In order to worship God, you must be saved. Are you? If not, here's how: The Plan of Salvation