Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart….” Mark 12:30
I want to love God with all my heart. I’m not 100% all day, everyday. I would be a liar if I didn’t admit that. Even though I am His and I am covered in His Love, there is still me in me. The self that remains a part of who I am. It isn’t as dominant as it was before I knew Jesus, but it hasn’t disappeared. This is not a surprise to Him. He knows I’m still me. My heart may fluctuate, but His never does. So, He loves me through the me moments with His Spirit. Am I an anomaly? A rare faulty Christian? If I am, then so was Paul.
“…Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:21-25
Jesus is the rescuer of “me”. It happens when I surrender. I accept that I am not responsible for strategizing my perfection. I sincerely mean it when I say, “here is my heart.” He takes my best effort to love Him and makes me flawless. It has a circular effect in that it compels me to want to live and love Him in a way that honors Him. What happens to “me”? Jesus changes me.Then God’s Heart is so joyful because He loves me loving Him.
“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Zepheniah 3:17