Read John 15:1-17
Love the Lord your God with all your heart… that means your mind, your will, and your emotions. It means allowing the Holy Spirit to create a new heart and also to abide there.
It means crucifying the old ways. It means rejoicing in being able to join the Lord in His work.
How do you know for sure that all this has happened in your heart? Love.
Several years ago, the Lord brought a lack of love to my attention. Instead of love, I often responded to others with contempt, cynicism, and sarcasm. One day, He gently (oh so gently!) showed me that love is proof that we are His disciples. I needed His help to love.
This, His greatest commandment, is a law with an objective. “Love one another as I have loved you.” His love multiplies through us.
When we wish well, take pleasure in, long for, prefer, and esteem our brothers and sisters in Christ, then we know that the Spirit is in control of our hearts, actively doing what the Lord prefers- laying down His life for His friends.
He established life for His beloved friends by laying down His own. He chose us, making a highly deliberative choice, in order to ordain us to the same ministry. He asks us to lay down our lives, showing love as He did, using our hearts as a loud speaker for His love.
Which person in your life most annoys you? Ask the Lord to help you lay down your life in love for him or her today.
Is love flowing out of your heart? If not, check the source! If the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart, your love well is full and should overflow.
Sarah Dixon Young 