Aha!

Matt. 23: 37 Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind”.

Aha! Merriam Webster defines an “aha moment” as “a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension”. Ever had such a moment? Allow me to share my most recent aha moment with you.

Reading Matt. 22:37, I was puzzled by what Jesus’ command that I “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” First, He commanded that I love God with all my heart—my thoughts and emotions; the easy times, when God seems nearby and my heart overflows with joy; the times when I feel cherished by some great or small sign of His love.

Secondly, I am commanded to love with my soul—my life, my purpose, my goals. Loving God with my life is harder and I’ll admit not as much fun as loving Him with my heart. Loving with my life takes commitment and self-sacrifice. I will only live on this earth once, and I have things I’d like to do while I am here. Loving God with my life, means allowing Him to tell me how to use my time on earth—even if it means not doing some of those things I’d really like to do. It means allowing Him to decide what I use my time and talents to accomplish.

Lastly, I am commanded to love with my mind. I’ve always thought this was the same as loving with my heart, but aha! God wants me to love Him with my aha-moment maker. Love Him with the part of me that gives birth to dreams, that imagines all that can be; the place where I first nurture hope.

God wants control of my emotions, my thoughts. He wants to direct my life and set my goals. But more than anything, He wants to give birth to my dreams and inspire my imagination. God yearns to be my greatest aha.

Dear Lord, help me to love You more deeply, to surrender my thoughts, my emotions, my aims, my dreams and ambitions – my all to you, in Jesus’ name amen.