With all our heart, soul and mind

With all our heart, soul and mind

Scripture:

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:34-40

Observation:

The run of testing continues for the Lord. Pharisees and Sadduccess are likewise silenced and the awe of the people grows at the wisdom of the Lord. Just then, an expert in the law tests him a tough question “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”. The natural reaction of most people would be to name the first of the ten commandments, “You shall have no other gods before me”. However, the Lord instead quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5, that we are to love the Lord our God with all your heart and all our soul and all our mind.

What is love? There is the love between a man and a woman (Eros), a brotherly love (Phileo), and than unconditional love (Agape). It is Agape here that is applicable, a love so strong that it continues even in the face of every hardship, a love that persists even when not reciprocated. True Agape love can only originate in God. It is only when we receive God’s Agape love, that we are able to reciprocate to love Him and to love others.

Love is not merely an emotion, but also a mindset, a choice, a conscious decision to set ourselves to do and wish for the very best of the other person. To love God is to seek to do what pleases Him.

The way we love God is described in the Scripture here as “with all your heart”, “all your soul” and “all your mind”. What is the difference between heart, soul and mind?

The basic Hebrew Word used here actually means to love God with our all. However, in an effort to help the reader understand more completely, translators try to segregate it as heart, soul, and mind, or heart, soul, mind and strength.

The heart speaks of our emotion. The mind speaks of concentrating and thinking solely about God. The soul speaks of our innermost being, our spirit man. Strength speaks of our body. Basically, all that we have belongs to God, and we are to worship Him with all we have.

Humanly, it is impossible to obey this commandment perfectly all the time, every waking hour, every minute and second. In fact, based on this commandment alone, all fall short of the glory of God. We all need Jesus as Savior to save us. It is only after salvation, when empowered by the Spirit, that we can love God in this way.

“The second commandment is just like the first” Jesus says. And to love our neighbor as ourselves truly all the time is also not possible in our human effort. At all times, our internal selves call out to satisfy our own lusts and wants first. How hard it is to put others before ourselves. Yet in the Spirit, we are able to do so. However, it is a lifelong process to learn to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Application:

The Jews meditated on this verse daily, reminding themselves the important of loving God again and again. How often do we ask ourselves if we are loving God? Practice, even in a quiet moment, to just close our eyes and firstly think of His perfect Agape love for us. Then seek to love God with all our heart, letting the Spirit flow through us and love Him. Fill our mind’s eye with thoughts of seeking Jesus, clothed all in White, loving and gentle. Focus on loving the Lord from the deepest part of our being. Pray to the Lord regularly to teach us to love Him this way.

Remember the command to love our neighbors as ourselves. As we interact with others, constantly consider “if I were them, what would they like me to do?” When we encounter resistance from our own needs, pray to the Lord for strength to have that servanthood mindset according to His will.

Prayer:

We praise You and love You, Lord, for You first loved us. Shower us with Your love, loving Heavenly Father, that we may learn how to reciprocate and love You with Your perfect, agape love. Teach us to fill our minds with loving You, to love You with all our emotions, to love You from our innermost spirit.

Teach us too to love others O Lord, even as we love ourselves. Help us to have that servanthood mindset, that we may learn to treat others as better than ourselves, and to genuinely care for others and help them where we can.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

On a donkey and a colt

On a donkey and a colt

Scripture:

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion,  ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna^] in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:1-11

Observation:-

Great excitement filled the air in Jerusalem, and there was deep sense of anticipation among the people. Their promised Messiah had arrived, and they began to dream of their King leading them to a great era of prosperity and fame after overthrowing the rule of the Roman government. Here was the man who fed 5,000, who healed the sick and cast out demons, who walked on water, and turned water to wine. Anything was possible for Him. He was the great Miracle Worker from Heaven, the one who claimed to be the  very Son of God. Even now, coming into Jerusalem, he was fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah which said “See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal or a donkey.

Curiously, the other two accounts of Palm Sunday in Mark and Luke only list Jesus riding on one donkey, while Matthew lists the Lord as riding on both a donkey and a colt. Theologians surmise that the Lord physically rode on the unbroken colt, which was kept calm by the presence of its mother walking beside. Donkeys were traditionally very effective beasts of burden in those times, and very popular among the people as a mode of transportation. Most likely, the cloaks were placed on both mother donkey and colt as Jesus rode into Jerusalem triumphantly. The image of the Lord on a humble colt showed that He came in peace and gentleness, not for war.

The crowd rightfully shouted “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Hosanna to the Son of David!” The Son of David was a specific reference to Jesus as Messiah, the promised Savior who was prophesied to come and save the Jews. What they unfortunately did not realize was that His first coming was for spiritual salvation, and they would unwittingly participate in this by crucifying the Lord Himself in just a short while later.

Application

What stands out most about the triumphant entry is the humility of Jesus. Here was the Son of God, powerful and mighty, with thousands and thousands of holy angels at His immediate command. Yet He chose to come in humility and peace. This was His way, We too should resolve to live humble and peaceful lives in Him, not being quarrelsome or arrogant.

Also, the image of the colt and its mother show us the Lord’s love for us, like a mother for her child. In Old Testament law, the mother child relationship even among animals was considered sacred, A kid was not to be cooked in its mother’s milk. A bird was not to be captured together with its eggs. An animal was not to be slaughtered in the same day as its young. Even in nature, the Lord shows His love for us through the mother-child animal relationship. Let us appreciate His great love shown to us.

Remember to praise the Lord as the Son of David, our Messiah, our Savior. His great salvation for us is something that we should never take for granted. Be mindful and thankful for His gracious salvation day by day.

Prayer

We praise You, Lord Jesus, for showing us the way, in Your perfect humility and gentleness and peace. Help us too be likewise humble and gentle and peace-loving. We thank You, Lord for Your great love for us which is like a mother’s deep love for her child. We praise thee, Lord, for You are our Great Messiah, our wonderful Savior in whom we have precious salvation. Blessed be Your name O Lord. In Jesus name Amen!

Love is patient

On a beautiful June morning last Saturday, we were most privileged to attend the wonderful wedding service of our lovely cousin Sharon to her dashing groom, David. As their chosen Scripture for this special day, they had wisely chosen the magical passage of love taken from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, and it was on this very passage that Reverend Eddy Ho preached on.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 8Love never fails.

What is love? Love means many things to many people. Magical, mysterious, misused, misunderstood, love is indeed a complicated thing. However, for us who believe in the Holy Bible, there are beautiful descriptions about what love should be like, and it is in learning the attributes of love proclaimed that we only begin to understand what love truly is.

Looking first at the negative view of the passage, we must first learn what love is not:-

Love does not envy:-

Envy is a terrible thing, and an inborn tendency of every human being to greater or lesser extent. We desire for that that we don’t have, and this evil jealousy has dark potential to lead us to great evil. Cain killed his brother Abel because of envy. It is not difficult for some of us to grow to hate another because he or she has better qualities or looks than we have. Even in a marriage, it is possible to be sinfully envious of one’s partner, especially when one partner may earn more, gain more attention or be more popular than the other. To overcome envy, we need to first accept ourselves and thank God for who He has made us, faults, warts and all. We are fearfully and wonderfully made in our own special individuality, specially crafted for the Master’s divine purposes. When we learn to focus on what we can do with what we have rather than on what we don’t have, we will have begun to understand one of life’s critical lessons. Even in a marriage, focus not on our own shortcomings, but aspire to do our best for each other with the strengths that we have.

Love does not boast:-

There is an often heard saying that self-flattery is no flattery at all. Nevertheless, it is also another aspect of human nature to boast, to blow one’s trumpet, to brag about one’s achievements and riches. Often time, boasting will directly or indirectly belittle someone else, and that of course, is hardly loving at all. True love does not demand itself of another because of his own greatness, beauty or achievement. Instead, true love is humble and focuses on the good of the other.   

Love is not proud

Pride, another of the seven deadly sins, is perhaps the most difficult weakness that each of us face. We lowly humans always tend to think we are better and deserve better than others. It is pride that became the downfall of Satan, and continues to be a snare to all men, both great and lowly, kings and peasants. As the Psalmist writes:- In his pride, the wicked does not seek God. In all his thoughts there is no room for God. However, the Lord gives grace to the humble. To learn to love, we need first to learn to be humble, not thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought, but considering others as better than ourselves. Especially in the marriage, each partner should adopt a humble and gentle attitude to each other.

Love is not rude

There are many ways to be rude, be it in words or in action, in tone of voice or even a rolling of the eyes. Rudeness is disrespect for the other person, and does much to tear down and sow the seeds of hate. Love is definitely not rude, but the whole concept of love is intertwined with respect. How do we show we love God? We respect Him by obeying Him. We need to be disciplined, especially so in a marriage, to be courteous and respectful of each other.

Love is not self-seeking

The whole modern world, and the whole concept of capitalism is based on the principle of greed, and selfishness. Anything we do must first be perpetuated with the question “What’s in it for me?” This is the opposite of true love, which instead seeks for the good of the other person. When we learn to be less selfish and more caring, love will truly begin to flourish in us.

Love is not easily angered

Anger is not a sin in itself. It is, in fact a natural reaction to unfairness, rudeness, selfishness and wrongs committed to oneself. Even the most patient man will become angry eventually in the face of persistent ridicule and abuse. However, the more we love a person, the more tolerant we will learn to be. We are commanded to bear with one another, to suffer long. Love is not immune from anger, but is able to endure much, seeking to understand first before being understood!

Love keeps no records of wrongs

One of the most important attributes of love, is no doubt forgiveness. Especially in a marriage, it is easy to recall with bitter ease the occasions and times when our loved ones have hurt us, and it is a most human reaction to seek revenge in one way or another. However, love keeps no records of wrongs. Love wipes the slate clean. We need to learn to be like God, whose mercies are new every morning. We need to forget the wrongs of the past, but look towards growing together in the future, in God’s grace!