"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....You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37, 39
Heart - all affections are centered on Christ. Everything else flows from that love.
I love my family out of the overflow of loving Christ, out of my obedience to Christ. I cannot love them without first loving Him.
Soul - all emotions must be brought to worship and poured out; it permeates everything.
Every decision I make, every emotion I feel can be poured out to the Lord and consecrated as worship. My soul is eternal. I must know how to worship Him eternally.
Mind - all of our knowledge of God must become obedience. Take every thought captive; pursue truth.
Knowing God is the goal, not just knowing of Him. If I know Him and take my thoughts captive, pursuing His truth, I will not be weighed down by the worries of this world or let the lies of the enemy take any kind of hold.
Strength - all of our time, talents and treasure need to be consecrated to the Lord as an act of worship
Once again I think of my work being done for the Lord alone. I also wrestle with knowing my talents and using them.
Neighbor - we last forever and therefore the way we treat each other is worship. Jesus laid down His life for us.
My interactions with coworkers, friends, strangers on the street, are all acts of worship. I have never considered this. But what strikes me most about this, especially in light of desiring to prepare myself for the next season of my family's life, is that how I treat my husband is an act of worship; how I treat our daughter is an act of worship. Humbling thoughts.
All of life is worship. Not just what I can muster. I cannot use being tired or busy or distracted as excuses. I must simply live a life of worship, consecrated to my God and King. What a beautiful thing this must be.
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