'Love, Choice, and Praise'

heart, soul, mind, and strength.” (Mark 12:30) Jesus begins with ‘all your heart’, which in Hebrew means your individual choice to say ‘Yes’ to God by following Him. Love is an emotion, but it is so much more. Love orients our entire being; our choices, our personalities, our thoughts, and our activity. Love of God effects absolutely every part of our human experience. Love begins with a choice.

 Emotional love is thin until it reaches maturity in a personal choice. In faith, it is the personal decision to follow Christ. That choice then directs our thoughts and actions. Why? The Psalmist lays out the reasons for this decision to praise. 1) God made us. 2) We belong to God. 3) God leads us for our good. 4) God is good. 5) God’s love toward us never ends. 6) God’s faithfulness continues to our children, grandchildren, and on. All of these are good reasons to make the choice to praise God. Psalm 100 comes to the obvious response. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” (Psalm 100:4)

 We don’t always have to have warm emotions in order to praise God. We just need to remind ourselves – like David did - of the solid reasons why we follow Jesus and why he deserves our praise. The decision to praise God then comes naturally. God has already laid out the solid reasons to choose His love. Look at your own life. Think through what God has done for you. Choose once again to love Him with 'all your heart, soul, mind, and strength'. Choose to love, and love through praise. 

Yours in Christ,

Jonathan