Minimum

We often want to give the bare minimum in most areas of our life. Maybe we have been at our job and lost our passion and drive and do just enough to keep our position. In marriage, we get complacent and often take our spouse for granted; forgetting to show love and care for them as we did when falling in love. What about our money…that makes some of us panic. We hold on tightly to every penny we can to support our self indulgent life styles. And maybe even more tightly than money-we hold our time. We schedule and plan and run ourselves near ragged accomplishing idle activities and tasks. When it comes to giving of ourselves, often there is no allotment of time set aside for that powerful gesture.

Are we living? Or are we existing? Do most of our days look the same? Are we comfortable? When was the last time we allowed ourselves to be stretched? When was the last time we sacrificed our time, money, desires for someone else…someone else that maybe we don’t know or don’t have a close relationship with? When was the last time we were passionate about something, consumed even? All in?

Mark 12:30 says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. ALL: the whole amount or quantity, completely taken up with, given to, or absorbed by, paying full attention with and my favorite-entirely consumed.

How can we love God with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds and all our strengths and still want to squeak by with giving the minimum of ourselves to Him or others? That is certainly not the example He gives us. All, entirely consumed, doesn’t sound like there is any option for any kind of minimum anything. 

Consider this…we want the maximum of just about everything. We want the fairy-tale marriage, a prestigious job title, the pricey car, honor roll, athletic, gifted children who excel far above others and we can never seem to have enough material possessions or money. If we are honest, in all this, we want the maximum glory…for ourselves. I know it’s ugly, but often true.

How can we be ALL about God as Mark 12:30 instructs if we are all about us? Jesus has given us instruction as well for being all in. Jesus describes “all in” as pick up your cross, sell your possessions, die to self and sin no more kind of thing. There is certainly no hint of minimum in His instructions. Loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength allows us to love others and let go of “self”. This is the place where we leave existing and begin truly living life abundantly.