“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5
I grew up going to a Christian school. K-7th grade. And every Wednesday. 9:00. Was chapel. We would all file in to the “big church”. Sit in the pews by class. Sing worship songs like “I Am A Promise.” Then each class would stand. One by one. And say their Bible verse for the week.
My earliest memory of memorizing a Bible verse for school. Is this one. Deuteronomy 6:5. I even made a song up to it.
Even today. I can’t but help sing the song as I read the verse.
When I was a kid, oh how my heart would burst with this verse! Because, of course, God! How could I not love Him with all my heart and mind and strength! It seemed so easy.
But now. If I really think about it. It isn’t so simple. Don’t get me wrong. It should be. I should be. In my head, with my logic. Yet my heart. It can be different sometimes.
My heart gets swayed. By feelings. Situations. Hurts. And that leaks into my mind. Challenging the logic. The truth. Which then. Saps my strength.
And I am left. Relying on myself. My ways. In reality. Me being my own god. And that is hard to write. Hard to admit. Yet it’s the truth.
When I take my heart. Mind. Strength. Away from God and place it in my own hands. I am placing myself over God. And that realization bring me to my knees. Because I do not want to be God.
Dear Jesus, forgive me. Forgive me for my wandering heart, mind, and strength. I give them back to you.
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