“Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind {…} Jesus replied, ‘Do this and you will live’ ” Luke 10:27-28

Embracing hearts. Czech Republic.

Love with all your heart. That sounds easy, right? Love and the heart go together – what could be so challenging about that?

Recently, I read a message about love from Rick Warren. In his reflection he said, “Today we’ve bought into this myth that love is uncontrollable, that it’s something that just happens to us […] But I have to tell you the truth: That’s not love. Love doesn’t just happen to you. Love is a choice, and it represents a commitment.”

So if love goes beyond our ideas of uncontrollable feelings, how do we choose to love – choose to love from the heart?

When we look to the Bible, we learn more about how God has created us, how he has shaped our hearts.

“God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” Romans 5:5

“I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts.” Jeremiah 31:33

“I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” Jeremiah 24:7

Each day, it’s our choice to tune out from the chaos of the world and listen to what has been placed on our hearts. The world is loud and it will try everything it can to distract you from the Truth.

But the Truth is right there inside of you. There’s no need to wonder if God forgot to etch His love and light onto your heart. He is your Father and He created you. He is true to His promise. We are the ones who must focus on our hearts if we are to love Him and live by faith.

It’s our choice to trust in Him, our choice to ask the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and guide us. This choice is love.

“May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways” 1 Kings 8:58