Love With It All

What a sinking feeling it is to realize you've locked your keys in your car ... kept or restrained. O. S. Hawkins writes, “We are to hold nothing back when we love God.” In other words, love Him without restraint! Typically, we try to limit ourselves from spending frivolously, rather practice living frugally. Jesus’ words, “love … with all your heart … soul … strength … mind” in Luke 10:27 don’t translate into hold-back or controlling ourselves. No thought, action, behavior, activity, or effort is exempt from Christ’s command. Perhaps we are guilty of “lip service” as described in Matthew 15:8 – “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” What part of the person is missing from the heart-soul-strength-mind? Well, that covers it all – the entire person; it’s all there, no parts missing! To love with no restraint is total abandon, no considering or debating [consciously or unconsciously] whether to love or not. Love with the whole person – give that love all you've got, all the time, in all circumstances, to all people. The gears of the heart-soul-strength-mind are greased and engaged. turned by a passionate love for Almighty God! Oh my, how do we do this in this imperfect world of evil and injustice? “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8). There it is - by His grace, we are able to live up to and honor the Name of Christ – – it’s how we … love without restraints … love with it all!