Read Mark 12:30-31 NIV
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Last week I asked my granddaughter to throw away her paper towel from her snack before we went into the living room to play. She looked right through me as if she was staring at the wall behind me, so I repeated myself and made sure she heard me. I turned to go to the living room and it took her a few minutes to follow me so I assumed she had done what I had told her to do, so I asked just to be safe. She confirmed that she had thrown it away…but about 20 minutes later when I went into the kitchen I found her paper towel wadded up and thrown in the direction of the garbage…however, not actually in the garbage. She had made some effort…but didn’t go the whole distance. A partial obedience wasn’t quite what I was looking for. We had a good conversation about telling the truth and also about doing the whole of what she is asked to do.
Then today, as I read these verses and pictured her walking toward the garbage, but not really wanting to go ALL THAT WAY (a whole three feet!), and choosing to do the task at hand half heartedly so she could play more quickly, I reflected on how often I do the exact same thing with God.
He calls us to love Him with ALL of our heart, ALL our soul, ALL our mind, and ALL our strength. But, all too often I settle for “good enough” so I can get to what I want, instead of exhibiting an “all in” attitude when it comes to the way I show love.
As I reflect on that, I am not really sure if love with a side of selfishness really is love at all. We’re not talking about perfection – as searching for perfection is kind of a losing game – but the posture of our hearts can be examined and repositioned every day…sometimes every minute!
How are you doing at giving God ALL of you lately…or is it just too far to go?
