A Heart Of Gold

Greetings to all, happy Valentine's Day on this blessed Sunday! May each of our hearts be bright, shiny, and so pure that it is inflamed with so much love today that all who we encounter feel and see the love of Christ radiating through us. Amen

As God's people, we should do our best to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and strength because we are commanded to do so, along with loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Mark 12:30-31 (GW)

30 So love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'

31 The second most important commandment is this: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these."

One would think that it would be easy to love the God who Himself is Love. However, we know that's not the case. You may have heard it said that some people are born with the gift of a big heart or a heart of gold.

It takes strength to love God and other people.

Ephesians 3:14-19 (NLT2)

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,

15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.

16 I pray that he will empower you with inner strength from his glorious, unlimited resources through his Spirit.

17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.

18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

The current conditions we live in have managed to turn people's hearts of gold into cold hearts.

Joel 2:12 (NRSV)

12 Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

Lesson: May we continue to pray for the strength and thank God for those we encounter with hearts of gold, which encourage and inspire the Spirits of each of us; when we find ourselves with a most delicate and wounded spirit.