“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” -Mark 12:30
God wants to be with you. It’s all He’s ever wanted, that’s why He made you. Look at Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They walked with God and there was nothing in between them (not even clothes!). They enjoyed a rich intimacy with God, which was suddenly broken as Adam and Eve doubted Him, disobeyed Him and did things their own way. They lost His presence. But, the rest of Scripture unfolds how God was making a way so that we could know Him personally and He could walk with us once again.
The Father provided everything needed to restore our relationship with Him by giving Jesus to pay the price for our sin, to take the punishment for how we turned our backs on God. Out of His incredible love for us, Jesus was willing to die so that you and I can personally know the Living God.
So how do we enter into the daily moment-by-moment presence with the Living God once again? It is as intimate and beautiful as a wedding. Beth Coppedge, the founder of Titus Women, explained this using a phrase that forever changed my life: “All of me for All of Him.” God invites us to give ALL of ourselves to Jesus. We give Him every part of ourselves including our past, our sin, our selfishness, our fears and dreams, our heart, mind, soul and even our physical strength. And in exchange, He forgives us, cleanses us and gives us ALL of Himself filling our inner most being with His life, love and peace. We exchange our sinful, selfish nature for His nature of holy love. Our relationship with the Living God is restored, and as we live moment by moment giving ourselves to Him, He gives us all of Himself so that our relationship is one of complete and total self-giving love.
This Lenten Season, what are you holding back from Jesus? Do you love Him with ALL of your heart? Soul? Mind? Strength? What keeps you separated from Him or keeps Him at a distance? Ask God for His forgiveness and let Him have all of you and receive all of Him.
Stephanie Hogan is the director of Titus Women, a ministry of the Francis Asbury Society, and has been involved with camp since she was a camper. Image credit: Camp alumnus Kenny Kinter.
