With No Wiggle Room & With No Half-Heartedness
“Hear, O Israel!
(Deuteronomy 6: 4-5 NASB)
The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your might.”
My brother-in-law ‘loves’ ice cream.
Did we catch that?
My brother-in-law ‘LOVES’ ice cream!
He does not ‘LOVE’ some ice cream and ‘somewhat love’ other types of ice cream. No, he ‘LOVES’ ALL ice cream. Sure, he may like some flavors more than other flavors, but still, he never turns down an opportunity to share in eating some ice cream, despite the flavor being offered.
There’s No Wiggle Room in his devotion to ice cream as the BEST dessert or daily snack.
My brother-in-law ‘loves’ ice cream.
Did we not see the significance of those words?
My brother-in-law ‘LOVES’ ice cream!
He does not ‘LOVE’ ice cream during the hot summer months when the ice cream stands are open for business and then refrain from eating ice cream during the winter months (when) by the nature of the name: ICE cream. Despite the season, he ‘LOVES’ ICE CREAM!
There’s No Half-Heartedness in his devotion to ice cream as the BEST food to consume.
Now, maybe you are reading and asking the question: How can you be so sure your brother-in-law really ‘LOVES’ his daily intake of ice cream? This is a fair question, one that can be easily answered by recounting a story.
- The season was wintertime—Christmas in fact.
- The location was the community park—the place where we had gathered to share the Nativity scene of Jesus.
- The time of night was growing late—actually it was the END of the night & the LAST night of the Nativity display.
We (meaning my two sisters and my two brothers-in-law) were transporting all the items of the Nativity scene back to church where the ‘brothers’ (and not the ‘sisters’) were assembling the Nativity stable at the front of the sanctuary. This was the same Nativity stable the ‘brothers’ had just dismantled a few minutes earlier, when we were at the community park. The work was almost complete—meaning the night was growing late and tools were being carried back outside to our vehicles.
During all this carrying, reassembling, putting up and restoring, my brother-in-law (the Ice Cream LOVER) said:
“I’m hungry,” and then walked out of the church sanctuary, headed toward the kitchen.
Now, I am not sure if the kitchen in your church is similar to ours, but oftentimes, leftover food tends to grow old and outdated. We have Ketchup bottles and Salad Dressing bottles that may have been purchased years ago. Thank goodness, our administrative assistant and others periodically go through and pitch the old items.
However, that night of the Nativity scene restoration in the church sanctuary, the old was not pitched but consumed, for the old was his ‘beloved’ ice cream.
- Have you ever opened ice cream that has freezer burn?
- Have you ever noticed the crusted layer of ice on top of the ice cream?
- Have you ever seen what you know to be old, outdated, and not leftover—CONSUMED WITH FULL DEVOTION?
This describes the way my brother-in-law carried the entire ½ gallon container back to the church sanctuary and proceeded to eat the rest of the ice cream with a large serving spoon. The rest of us could not believe our eyes, for we saw the aged ice cream as disgusting and not something to be ‘loved’ and adored.
- He saw the beauty.
- He tasted the sweetness.
- He enjoyed the feast.
- He knew the truth.
- He felt the joy.
He was thankful for what had been revealed &
He was determined to consume every last bite.
Still today, we talk about this night, recalling the way he thoroughly enjoyed his found treat, eating & LOVING the ice cream until the container was clean.
Just as God’s servant Moses wrote to the Israelites, we too must be FULLY DEVOTED in our spiritual walk with God. We cannot be—Half-Heartedly Devoted.
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart
(Deuteronomy 6: 5 NASB)
and with all your soul
and with all your might.”
God’s love has been freely given to every person alive because God loves us when we have nothing to offer Him in return.
- The LORD accepts us just as we are. &
- The LORD loves us too much to leave us as we are, in our state of unforgiveness. &
- The LORD takes our brokenness, our ugly state of sinfulness—&—Leads us to wholeness.
GOD IS SPIRIT & DWELLS WITHIN THE HEARTS OF BELIEVERS.
- So, this means HE is perfectly able to reveal HIMSELF to us.
- So, this means we can know GOD in a depth today that will blow our minds.
- So, this means HE can reveal HIS thoughts, HIS will, HIS power & HIS love to us.
The question is NOT—Can we know God?
The question every person alive needs to ask is—
Am I willing to center my life, my devotion, my ‘LOVE’ in HIM?
Heart—Soul—Might. This means ALL of me & ALL of you.
- We must LOVE GOD!
- We must LOVE JESUS, OUR SAVIOR & REDEEMER!
- We must LOVE FOLLOWING GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT, wherever & to whatever HE leads us to!
- We must LOVE, PRAY, SURRENDER, SEEK & WALK IN HIS PRESENCE MOMENT-BY-MOMENT!
With No Wiggle Room & With No Half-Heartedness.
- See the beauty in obedience to GOD.
- Taste the sweetness the LORD has to offer.
- Enjoy feasting on HIS Word.
- Know the truth found in GOD’S LOVE.
- Receive the joy of GOD’S SALVATION, forever thankful for what has been revealed.
JESUS HIMSELF, the SON of GOD, taught about this when HE LOVED us so much that HE left heaven & came & walked on earth as a man, just so we could be saved.
“And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying,
(The Gospel According to Luke 10: 25-28 NASB)
“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
And He said to him,
“What is written in the Law?
How does it read to you?”
And he answered,
“YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART,
AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL,
AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH,
AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND;
AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
And He said to him,
“You have answered correctly;
DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”