When I was A Child, I thought as a child, I acted as a Child, and when I became a man, I put away childish things, an acted as a man.
When I told my mother that I loved her she responded in kind, but as I told my dad the same thing, there was no answer. My dad had a problem with showing his true emotions, but I knew in my heart, he loved me too.
“My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” The ways of the heart are sometimes unknown to most men. They say; “I love you.” but have no idea what true love is. The word love has been lost in lust, and greed.
My dad, had a special love, that was, unique, and separate, from others. His love for his children came in the form of his work ethics, and supplying his children with the best he could provide. I remember many a time when we had brown beans for dinner, but even with this, my dads love, shown threw. My dad bought us a new pair of shoes each year to wear to school, he bought us two new pair of pants, and two new shirts. We had all that we needed. We never asked for more than was necessary, never asked for more than he could provide, and never wondered why someone else had more, we were content.
This is true love, love for mother, father, sister, brother, and neighbors. We would give our lives for one another, we would give any pleasures for one another, we were family, with the love of a family. This is the way with God, for “The love of God is the first duty of man.”
Love; “In other words, the Christian loves God with the love of complacency(pleasure or joy.)in his attributes (That which is considered as belonging to, or inherent in; as, power and wisdom are attributes of the Supreme Being; honor), the love of benevolence(An act of kindness; good done; charity given.) towards the interest of his kingdom, and the love of gratitude for favors received.
We must love God without the self interest of expecting things from Him. We do not love God, or anyone else with our fleshly heart, but rather with our spirit. The spirit of a man is where his heart lies. For we know that we are all made from the spirit, first and then the flesh follows. This is why many have a heard time in knowing when life begins. Life, and love, begin with conception. For without the spirit the body is dead.
“The love of God is the first duty of man, and this springs from just views of his attributes or excellencies of character, which afford the highest delight to the sanctified heart.”
The sanctified heart means; “To separate, set apart or appoint to a holy, sacred or religious use.”
Our hearts love God because we have been set apart for His use, glory, and for His good pleasure. We love God with all our hearts, soul, mind, spirit, and we offer our own bodies for a living sacrifice, which is our reasonable service to God. With out dedication, we cannot love God as we should.
Without believing in Him, and His attributes, we are worshipers with no substance. Without believing in His Son, we are worshipers with no love for God, nor for His word. We are a separated people, and must keep our love for God, as He would be acceptable with. We cannot love God with our body, for it is contaminated with sin, and unrighteousness, but we can keep our bodies in acceptance with His laws, and statutes. We cannot love God with doubt, or anger, in our Hearts.
“And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” To love God is too trust Him, to believe in Him and to relie on Him. Our spirits will show the true intentions of our heart. The evil of this world has a way of trying to enter into the heart of a believer. It gives excuses as to why, you haven't received from God, as to why your life is not going well, and to why you should turn away, from the true love of God, for another.
“My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” Giving over our heart to the Lord, is to accept His gifts, and rebuke. For a love for a child is sometimes hard to show, as it was with my dad. Sometimes we must punish our children, not to show our authority or power, but rather to show our concern for their well being, and love. Gods love is shown at times by not answering your prayers, because many times we forget to trust in Him, forget that He knows our daily needs, or the thing that you are asking for is not the will of God. Many times we get into a ministry that was not ordained by the Lord, as so, He is in no obligation to aid you in the project, that you have applied, to the ministry, that was ordained by God.
And he answering said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” We can see here that, the heart of a man is separate from, the soul of a man. The Heart is the spirit of love within us and the soul is that part of man which enables him to think and reason, and which renders him a subject of moral laws. In other words, we are able to reason, and think upon, what is right, and what is wrong.
The soul, strength, and mind, are the parts of the spirit that choose weather to believe, and love the Lord. Just a thought. Ars.
Pro 23:26 Mar 12:33 Luk 10:27, Webster,TSK.
