Mark 12:30 AV
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.
Yes, it comes down to loving the Lord our God with all our hearts.
Where we have received grace from God,
where in Christ Jesus we have forgiveness of sins,
and where we have reconciliation with God …
There the love comes into our hearts
there we receive a new heart,
there we experience that we can love the Lord because He first loved us.
However, that loving is preceded by judgment.
Where we have learned to see that we are fallen people,
Where we have learned that only evil can come from our corrupted hearts,
Where we come to the recognition that our flesh can only produce hatred to God and neighbor,
There we cannot do anything else, but condemn ourselves.
But…
Then we may also know that the Christ has taken the judgment upon Himself;
Then we may also know that the Christ has reconciled us to the Father;
Then we may also know that the Christ has paid for all our sin and debt;
And then we may also know that the Christ has borne all judgment for those who belong to Him, and that His own now go free.
When we fully realize this,
when this really gets through to us,
what a love will then blossom in our hearts,
and how gladly will we then follow Him.
When that love is in our hearts,
then this also radiates to the neighbor.
Love God above all, with all our heart.
And the neighbor as ourselves.
Have you also learned to do this?
Twitter: @SchoemakerHarry
Website 1: https://devotionals.harryschoemaker.nl
Website 2: http://bijbelplaatjes.nl
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