August 10, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"Fully Devoted... "
2 Kings 23:25
New International Version
25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.
If you could have anything at all said about you, what would you most want to hear? One would be hard-pressed to hope for a greater tribute than the one given to Josiah. Not even David, who also loved God with all his heart, received such a high accolade. The phraseology describing Josiah mirrors Jesus 'famous pronouncement of the greatest command: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30), which tracks the original formulation in Deuteronomy. If those criteria are so vital, how do we stack up, especially when that word “all" is used? All of the heart. All of the soul. All of the mind. And all of one's strength. Who among us can say that all of us is fully dedicated to doing the will of God?
The most intriguing question is why full devotion to God is subdivided into the subcategories of heart, soul, strength, and mind? Typically we are more comfortable talking about the heart (our emotional side), or the mind (our intellectual side), or perhaps our strength (the physical side of us). Far more difficult to express is how our whole soul can be dedicated to the Lord. Yet because the soul is that part of us which survives death, loving God with all of our soul is the most eternally significant task we face. Some of us have hearts for God, but not minds. Or minds devoted to God, but not hearts. And how about our souls? Having a specific checklist to double-check assures that no part of us is left without room for scrutiny.
The challenging question is: What part of my emotions, intellect, strength, or soul has yet to be fully devoted to God?
