With All

The Lord has been sharing things with me lately about loving Him. I've got so much to learn. One of the first things the Lord impressed upon me was that loving Him is a response - a response to His love for me. The scripture says that we were haters of God and were it not for the love that He demonstrated to us when He sent His Son to die for us, we would never have come to Him. I John 3:1 says, "Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the sons of God . . ." Secondly, I demonstrate my love for Him by living a life of obedience to Him and His Word. His Word has been written upon my heart and I am to live by it so that I might not sin against the Lord. But as I was studying this week the two great commandments I was struck with the words "with all". I am to love the Lord with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength. As I meditated upon this verse I was reminded of where the Pilgrims first found fresh water in America. They followed some animals through some thicket to a place where a spring of fresh water was springing up 2 to 3 feet high. But when you go there today, there is only the smallest trickle of water from a pipe that has now been put there. What happened? Well, one of our grandparents at school had an understanding of geology and explained it to us this year and it was fascinating. You see, the origin of the pilgrim spring was more than likely from an underground source many miles from where the spring surfaced, most likely on what we would refer to as inland Massachusetts. As people settled throughout the land and would drill for water, they likely tapped into the fresh water source that provided the Pilgrim Spring. When they would tap into the source, it would relieve the pressure that was being used to push the water all the way to the spring and the spring would get gradually smaller and smaller, until finally the spring would almost dry up. You see something entered into the source of the spring which drew its vitality away from Pilgrim Spring. Same way in my life I am sorry to say. How many times do I allow something into my life which hinders the springs of living water to flow through my life? The lusts of hte flesh, the lusts of the eyes, the pride of life, bitterness, unforgiveness, a jealous spirit, a worrisome heart and so many things can affect the flow of God's love, joy and peace in my life and hinder me from loving Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Isn't it amazing how we let the cares of this world draw from our lives the refreshing water of life found in the Lord Jesus. Let us learn together to love Him with all because He loved us with His all!