State of Heart!

And Jesus replied to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart , and with all your soul , and with all your mind .’ MATTHEW 22:37 AMP

To put today's extract in proper context, your search for God has got to be right. You must seek God with a heart that is free from pretence, hypocrisy and eye service. Just as it was in the days of Jesus, today, we find 'lawyers' everywhere, men with a deep knowledge of the letter of the law, but completely ignorant about the workings of the Spirit. We have emphasized the importance of head knowledge over and above a broken heart that acknowledges its weaknesses and seeks out the only One that can restore it.

So, a lawyer comes to Jesus, seeking to test him, asking him which of the over 6,000 commands given by Moses was the greatest. We do that today, seeking validation and approval from men in areas where we appear strong, whilst hiding the truths about our weaknesses so that we are not seen as weak. We want man's applause for our efforts, forgetting that man's applause never equals God's approval. If Jesus had given the lawyer a favourable answer, he would have felt self sufficient, thinking he had got the whole thing working well. That rich young ruler who came to Jesus was looking for validation, and focused on the written letters of the law. When confronted with the state of his heart, he went away sad, because he could not give up his possessions in order to fulfill the 'Spirit' requirements of the law. 

So it is with us today. God's commandments are a guide for our daily living, but no man alive can ever succeed in walking with God unless and until that man has a living, breathing love relationship with God. You can't obey God without loving him and you can't claim to love God if you do not obey. The two go together. Do not seek God for what you can get first of all; seek him out for who he is.

Your heart, soul and mind are all key to this relationship. So many verses talk about the importance of these three. Your heart is the seat of life, the processing centre for everything your life produces. When your heart is right, your output is right. When there is pretence,  God knows. Your soul is your real essence, the part of you that is eternal. The body is just the cover, and will return to dust. Your mind is the seat of intellect and understanding, and you study God's word, you get a deeper understanding of who this God is and what he  has done, can do and is doing presently.

So, what is the state of your heart? Can God confirm that your  love for him is genuine? Do you need to search your heart again? His time of favour is here.