You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first (most important) commandment Mark 12:30
“With all your heart”. Several things can indicate that we’re wandering from our first love (Rev 2:4). But a dead give-away is our hearts: We delight in someone or something else more than we delight in the Lord.
Have you ever been around someone who is so intent on their new job or their favorite sports team, or a new relationship or hobby…that it seems like whenever you’re with them the subject always turns to whatever they’re obsessing on? That’s their delight.
The idea of our first love is that our delight is in the Lord (Ps 37:4). Taking delight in the Lord means that our hearts truly find fulfillment, satisfaction and worth in Jesus. He’s foremost in our hearts, exceeding the bond of any other relationship, activity or pastime. Jesus identified the greatest of all commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…”.
If we find ourselves obsessing over other things, we really need to get God’s perspective on their role in our lives. Note: that thing we delight in is not necessarily wrong. God may have brought those things into our lives. But we still need His perspective or it can “own” us. And He doesn’t want that.
“With all your soul”. Our soul longs for times of intense and resonating companionship with God –connecting at deeper and deeper levels. That’s what it means to “love the Lord your God with all your…soul…”. We cultivate our soul-love for Him is by worshiping Him. This can include, but is more than, singing songs in church (which may not even be worshipful, anyway).
This soul thing is quite personal. It’s taking time to ponder God and who He is…to exalt Him by telling Him (and reminding ourselves) how wonderful He is. Considering His intervention in the circumstances of our lives and the lives of those we love. Adoring Him. Expressing praises to Him. Blessing His holy name. The psalmist called it “beholding the beauty of the Lord” (Ps 27:4). That’s soul-love.
Next time we’ll continue this look at rekindling our “First Love” for the Lord…