With All Your Strength Jul 15 2012

"Jesus answered, 'The most important [commandment] is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And 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.’" - Mark 12:29-30

The last in this little devotion series is, we need to love God with all of our strength. That means all of our energy. It’s interesting that the word the gospel of Mark uses for "strength" also means "ability." I love that. Because what does that tell us about loving God? It means that God has given all of us talents and abilities. And when we use those talents and abilities in church, or in vocation, or in relationships with others, we can approach it one of two ways – we can seek glory for ourselves or look to glorify God.

You see, to love God with all of our energy, with all of our abilities, with all of our spiritual gifts, means serving the Lord in ministry. It’s a way of expressing our love to Him. It means holding nothing back when it comes to our energy level in showing our love for God. It means that when we’re using all that energy in our vocation, or in school, we’re doing it because it is pleasing to God to make the most of our abilities for Him. We are loving God with all of our strength, with all of our being.