What does 50% devotion to God look like?

“Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12

Where is that switch?  You know, it’s the one that you are looking for to make everything work.  It is important to love God and love your neighbors, but knowing it is important and living it out are entirely two different things.  If only you could flip a switch to make it happen, then life would be in order.

Why does it seem so difficult to devote ourselves totally to the Lord our God?  What causes the hesitation?  What causes a blockage that keeps us from extravagant worship?

We love that which we invest in time.  To invest means that we use our emotional, mental and physical energy directed toward one thing.  Our use of our time always reflects our true value for something.  When Pam and I were first dating, it seemed like I was thinking about her all day.  I would think of things to write, ways to show her that I was thinking about her, read her notes to me again, and anticipate the phone call later that night…this was before cell phones.  More than once the smile on my face let people know that I had just talked with her on the phone.   It was obvious that I was “all in” in the relationship.  To love God means that I find time to engage in that relationship through talking with him, reading his Word, worshiping Him in song, spirit and truth, loving the people that he loves.

The natural flow is to love what God loves.  He loves the world so much that he gave his one and only Son.  When Jesus looked on the crowd of people he had compassion for them.  We need to ask God to stir up within us a deep love for all people.  Ask the Lord to help you see them as he sees them.  We express our love for God when we love one another.

Father, help us to love you with everything that is within us.  Help us to be fanatics for you.  And then help is to be real in the way that we love other people.  In Jesus name, Amen.