“Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘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.” Matthew 22:35-38 NKJV
I am very close to my cousins, but we all no longer live in the same area, some even on different continents, like myself. When we were growing up, technology was just becoming a thing, so we were limited to physical encounters. I’m not sure how it transitioned to our intentional efforts to spend time with each other, but even as our locations have changed, the efforts have remained the same, and probably even magnified. We have several group chats, we individually reach out and share secrets, and when we are together, we do our best to make the most of it. I know them and continue to because I have made an effort to. It’s one thing to simply be aware of someone, or love them in theory, and another thing to fully expend efforts to love them. With all of that being said, the best day of my life is the day I gave my life to Christ. The next best days are the ones that I’ve chosen to love Him with my heart, soul and mind.
So many of us have distant knowledge of God, or we do just enough to maintain our Christian status. I’ve especially witnessed it with Christians who grew up in the church – for us, there was no Saul-to-Paul revelation, it was most likely a quiet altar call your mother nudged you forward for. We have therefore replicated the routines and are carrying it forward: things like Sunday Service, saying a quick nightly prayer, begging God in times of need, knowing John 3:16, and the like. But we don’t know what it means, neither have we bothered to find out, because we are, in name, children of God, and that is enough. I have news, however: it is not. God wants to be loved by you.
It’s not just minimum efforts that could mean a lack of loving the Lord in action. Sometimes, like Martha (Luke 10:38-42), it looks like doing too much without the heart of the matter, which is Christ.
We are so into what we look like, or the work of the Lord, that we forsake the Lord of the work itself. The Word says ““I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (Revelation 2:2-4 NKJV). Busyness in His name does not mean intimacy with Him.
What a stunning thing it is to worship a God who is interested in us, in the things we have to say, in our daily lives. But, even better, how beautiful is His mercy, that He meets us where we are at?
To be a soul after His own heart, I’ve come to understand, is to simply let your desire to know Him more and honour His word be at the forefront of your life. You will find Him at work, in your car, even on vacation. On the days you may not find Him as easily, you can still seek because you’re familiar with His voice. And in the few (hopefully, never) days you can barely get out of bed, He will meet you where you’re at. Because the Lord has never been about how much you can do for Him, or how much He can use you. He has always been after one thing. For you to pursue Him as hard as He does you – for you to pay attention, the same way we search for attention everywhere else. On the 20% days, He will give you 100%. Become a friend of God, He’s already a friend of yours (2 Corinthians 5:18-20 MSG).
