And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first
commandment
وتحب الرب الهك من كل قلبك ومن كل نفسك ومن كل فكرك ومن كل قدرتك هذه
هي الوصية الاولى
Mark 12:30
I often wondered: what does it really mean to love God
with all of my strength and what does the word ‘love’ in this context really
mean?
I
believe ‘love’ here means a reverent adoration toward God which is intense and
steadfast, with passion and enduring loyalty.
In order for me to love God with all my strength, I
need to reverently and passionately put all the gifts He has given me under His
service. The gifts He has given me that I would put under His services include
but are not limited to my abilities, resources, time, and energy. When I serve
God it awakens love in me, and my love for God is continually refueled when I
feel that I am pleasing Him. Since I treasure my relationship with the Lord, my
actions reflect that.
In order to bring my life (ship) in from the storm,
the rudder of my ship (my actions, deeds) needs to be my love for God with all
my strength.
How do I do that? God teaches
me that:
‘If anyone
serves Me, let him follow Me;’
My little children, let us not
love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
أَيُّهَا
الأَوْلادُ الصِّغَارُ، لَا يَجِبُ أَنْ تَكُونَ مَحَبَّتُنَا مُجَرَّدَ ادِّعَاءَ
بِالْكَلامِ وَاللِّسَانِ، بَلْ تَكُونَ مَحَبَّةً عَمَلِيَّةً حَقَّةً.
1 John 3:18
So my love for God with all my strength will be
demonstrated by my actions and deeds in serving God and the rudder of my ship
is controlled by following Jesus.
I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:
Abba
Father, please help me and teach me to love and serve You with all my strength
in the way that pleases You. Lord, awaken love in me, and continually refuel my
love for You. Help me to put under Your service all the gifts You have given
me; with
passion and enduring loyalty. Jesus I want to follow You and love You in deed
and in truth.
God I praise You, glorify You and lift
You up on high. I thank You God for
your abundant blessings and for Your
deep, everlasting and inseparable love. In the name of the King of kings and
Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Jesus I pray. I declare Jesus as my
Lord and Saviour, to Jesus be the power,
the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever, and
unto ages of ages. Amen.
Jesus loves you,
In Him,
Wagdi Henein
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