The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind;’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” Luke 10:27-28
When you think of the phrase “fully devoted to Christ,” who has modeled this well for you? The first people who come to mind for me are my grandparents. Each one of them showed me what it looks like to serve God and to love Him and His people as I grew up. Their passion for the Bible, their prayer lives, and their dedication to the church have moved me in such a way that I am convinced that I am the person I am today because of them. This week, we are talking about parenting our children and those who are like children to us, and one of the most important questions we can talk to them about is, “Who are you going to spend the rest of your life with?” When considering this question, the first and most important thing is teaching our children that before considering who to spend their lives with, they must first determine to fully devote their lives to Christ because that is the single most important thing anyone can do with their life.
We find in Luke 10 that a man asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life, which meant salvation and life with God forever. In response to this question, Jesus asked him what Scripture taught a person had to do to have this eternal life. This man, knowing the law, answered, “’ You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (verses 27-28). Jesus confirmed that the man’s answer was correct. Indeed, we are to love God with everything in us, our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. This love is to be above everything else. We are called to be fully devoted to Him. How do we demonstrate this kind of love? We love God with all of our hearts by having a great amount of affection, love, and admiration for Him. We love God with all of our soul by trusting in Him for eternal life and believing Him for salvation if we have placed our faith in Him. We love Him with all of our minds by knowing Him through reading our Bibles, talking to Him in prayer, and listening to trusted teachers and preachers talk about Him. Finally, we love God with all our strength by loving Him whole-heartedly and fiercely, being willing to stand up against those who go against Him and His word. This is how we are to love Him. This is how we are to teach our children to love Him.
As you think about your own life, have you truly dedicated your life to Christ? Do you love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Does He have precedence in your life? Are you teaching the children in your life to do the same? This is the best thing we can do with our lives. It is the best thing our children can do with their lives. Let’s join together and commit to God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and watch our children do the same thing.
Today’s call is to look at our own lives and encourage the children in our lives to do the same. Is there an area of your life that is not fully devoted to Christ? Are you holding anything back from Him? Consider your answer to this question and ask God to help you have the courage to take the necessary steps to become a fully devoted follower of Christ. Next, have a conversation with the children in your life about being fully devoted followers of Christ. Tell them about what you learned in your Bible study today and encourage them to take steps to fully devote their lives to Christ.
Read Luke 10:25-37 (NLT)
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
©2024 Sagebrush Church
