What do you do with “all your heart?” That’s a phrase we hear a lot. Do you play basketball, love your kids, work at your job? A quick Google search yielded the following things folks do with “all your heart” – care for others, be strong, love the Lord, love someone else, shop, seek, dance, even love cilantro! I eat donuts with all my heart. Does that count? What does it mean to do something with “all your heart?” Does it mean you dedicate yourself to the exclusion of all else? Give all that you have to give? Invest not just your time or treasures, but your emotions and feelings and essential self?
I’ve been thinking about this idea in the context of our theme for this school year “Christ-fit for Service” based on 1 Peter 4:10-11. Our theme focus for March is Christ-fit to serve faithfully with all your heart based on 1 Samuel 12:24: “Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.” God is asking us to serve people and the world around us with our whole heart. I think that means more than our spare time or our spare change; it means giving all of ourselves freely and without hesitation. We are to serve the Lord not just with our intellect, or our special gifts, but from the deepest part of ourselves, even the parts that are scared or hesitant or unsure. By serving with our whole heart, we are giving all of ourselves to the Lord, holding nothing back or in reserve. That’s scary, and leaves us vulnerable and weak, but that’s how Christ wants it, so we rely exclusively and completely on Him.