Matthew 22:36-37 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Do you think any human is capable of giving their all, every bit of heart, soul and mind?

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Deceitful, to deceive, unable to be understood to be true, is this the heart to love God with everything?

Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

Here is an offer for a heart transplant and anti-rejection medication. What good is a new heart if you don’t have the means of keeping it healthy? That is why the spirit is given, to take care of this new heart.

John 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

How can you love God with all your heart if Christ does not abide in your heart? His abiding love is the compelling force behind every good work.

1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

We cannot love the way God intends for us to love without Christ in us, ruling in our hearts.

Colossians 3:14-16 (ESV) And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.