“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…” – Matthew 22: 37

We heard Jesus commanding us to love God with all of our heart. Indeed, that is a tall order. Maybe, first, we ought to back up and ask: “Before we get to all our heart, what does it mean to love God at all with our heart? Surely, there are other ways to love God, but what does that mean when we do it with our heart?” At a minimum, it means:

Feeling. Nearly fifty years ago, one of my younger brothers asked me how he would know if he was in love. My answer to him was: “When you are in love, you won’t have to ask me. You’ll know it!” When we love God with our heart, we don’t need anyone to tell us. We’ll know because we will feel it. Everyone doesn’t feel the same way or the same thing when they are in love, but one should be suspect of any kind of love which can’t be felt.

Focus. The heart is the core of your body. It is “life central.” All of your blood and emotions flow through it. Loving God with the heart means having a love which is at your core. It is a love which effects all of you, but emanates from one place, the center of your being. Loving God with your heart focuses your love such that no one or nothing else gets that kind of love from you. – And, no one or nothing, but God is allowed to occupy that special and unique place in your heart.

Fire. Loving God with your heart is not just a matter of feeling and focus. It also includes fire. Fire is the intensity of the feeling. Fire is the passion to be in His presence. Fire is the enthusiasm associated with just calling His name. Fire is the energy generated by His words. Fire is the desire to live your life to please Him.

Thus, loving God with your heart involves a feeling which cannot be denied, a focus which cannot be distracted and a fire which cannot be extinguished.