Deuteronomy 13:3 The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
The secret of a successful marriage is not in the flowers, fancy gifts or flamboyant words but in integrity, faithfulness and transparency. True love is tested by honesty not jewellery. Similarly, our love for God is tested and proved by our trust, truthfulness and tenacity in Him. If we only seek His hand and not His heart, we will be like those who seek a ‘sugar daddy’. If our prayers are only about houses, health and happiness we are only seeking the Hand of God. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). The test of love is verified and validated by our obedience to His Word.
The Israelites who were delivered from Egypt repeatedly failed the “the test of love” on their journey to the promised land and aborted the plan of God with their distrust and disobedience. The test of love is like a “Master Health Check-up” – the body, brain(soul/intellect) and heart must sound the rhythm of love to pass the ‘Love Test’.
Master Health Check – the test of love:
1. Brain: A recent study by HeartMath studies has defined a vital link between the heart and brain. There is a constant dialogue of emotional signals exchanged between the brain and heart which determines the rhythm of the heartbeat. Emotional signals from the brain such as annoyance, frustration or apprehension tampers the rhythm of the heart. The erratic heartbeat is then transmitted back from the heart to the brain. The palpitation of the heart blocks the thinking capacity in the brain causing stress. The brain’s submission to love rather than hatred, defeating the emotional erratic spurts, will pass the test of love.
2. Heart: The HeartMath studies also proved that the heart sends more information to the brain than it receives. Our heart is the CPU that holds the treasure of information. Hence Jesus said, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil (Matthew 6:45). When negative emotions from the brain flood the heart, the heart should remind the brain of a profound Bible verse that was memorised and stored in the CPU. When the brain conveys defeat, the heart should respond with ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me’ (Philipians 4:13). To pass the test of love, God’s Word, His promises, prophecies, proclamations and positivity from the treasure-house of the heart must overrule the emotions of the brain.
3. Body: Our body does not make any decisions. It just reacts to the signals that it gets from the brain and heart. When the brain is inundated with bitterness from the heart, the body’s response would be hatred, heart-attack or hopelessness. On the contrary, when the pessimism of the brain is negated with a deluge of positivity, forgiveness and divine-love, the gloom will be washed away. The body’s response with compassion and understanding rather than bitterness will pass the test of love.
Our love for the Lord starts as a dialogue between the heart and the soul(mind/brain) which is broadcasted by the reactions of our body. In God’s training school, if we fail the ‘test of love’, we just have to keep repeating until we pass. If not, we will live and die in the wilderness like the Israelites who failed the test of love.
Matthew 22:37 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, my heart is designed for love and not hatred. I submit to love you with all my heart, soul, mind and body. Amen
Leave a Reply