"Heartbeat"

My little girl with her first child,

Called with tears to say,

They couldn’t find a heartbeat,

I got there right away.

And standing at the bedside,

We offered up a prayer,

That this child would be all right,

I felt the Spirit there.

And sure enough they heard that beat,

And all turned out okay,

And he’s a healthy four-year-old,

I thank God everyday.

But what about the heartbeat,

We all have one, it’s true,

It says to us that there is hope,

And when each day is new,

If you have a heartbeat,

God gives to you this day,

To go and do what He’s assigned,

And He will show the way.

And when we pledge allegiance,

It’s my hand upon my heart,

That says I love this country,

And I will do my part.

We say that deep within our hearts,

The strongest things we feel,

And if with all your heart it seems,

Shows what you think is real.

And I’ve had two near misses,

When my heart had an attack,

The doctors took care of me,

And I thank God for that.

But at last the day will come,

When that old heartbeat ends,

One last breath and words good-bye,

And eternity begins.

While we are here on this side,

Let’s make the heartbeat count,

‘Cause this life’s getting shorter,

Only God knows the amount.

“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart…” (Mark 12:30, NLT)

What does it mean to love the Lord with all your heart? Some of us have such a banged up, wounded heart we don’t know how to love anybody. Maybe that’s the most important thing to know. Perhaps the first step in loving the Lord with all your heart is to bring your injured, trampled, selfish heart to Him and ask for healing. Maybe giving Him your heart to fix, and being willing to change from the inside out is where it begins. Loving the Lord without reservations or negotiation is what Jesus is talking about. It’s about being full out, all in, and totally committed to Him. Making Jesus our first love brings adjustment to every other love we have. Love Him first, and the world will get the overflow.

Lord, teach us how to love You with all our hearts, in Jesus’ name.