Studying the Greatest Commandment
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” ~Matthew 22:37
It’s amazing how one can walk with the Lord for close to 30 years and yet still have Scripture verses gain new meaning from time to time. The above verse is a familiar one, being referenced several times throughout the Bible and yet have you ever thought about what it means to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and (some passages include) strength? I would like to break this verse down and give us all some food for thought.
Heart
When a person falls in love, they talk about giving their heart to a person. They feel as though their heart would break if this person were no longer in their life. Sometimes their heart may skip a beat at the very thought of their beloved.
The older I get, the more I realize why Scripture calls us the Bride of Christ. When you first became saved, you no doubt were in love with Jesus. You wanted to learn everything you could about Him. You wanted to tell people about Him. He became the greatest thing that ever happened to you. As in marriage, though, time goes on and feelings can wane. All of a sudden, you are not as zealous. You are tired of reading the Word, and you may have allowed other people and things to take priority in your life. Just as in marriage, you must work to not let those feelings die. You should love the Father more deeply with every day that passes. This comes through continually studying about and conversing with this God who loves you so much that He gave His Son to die a horrendous death for you!
Soul
Dictionary.com defines “soul” as “emotional or intellectual energy or intensity.” Whereas the heart tends to be the center of feelings, the soul seems to be a deeper, more grounded part of you. This is where you not only feel love for the Lord, but you commit to serve and obey Him even when your feelings wane or aren’t as strong as they once were. I believe it is the soul that keeps resurrecting the desire to stay close to the Lord. After your heart has long stopped beating, your soul will live on. How important it is to love God from the depths of your being. Near as I can tell, that would be the soul.
Mind
Many people fight spiritual battles for their minds, and I am no exception. This week has been rough in this area but that is probably what caused this verse to jump out at me last night. God wants to be at the center of our thoughts. He wants us to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) and to think about those things which are pure, lovely, true, and of good report (Philippians 4:8). He wants our focus to be on Him, His Word, and His ways. With everything going on in the world right now, this is hard to do, but we must keep fighting the good fight, and that begins with redirecting our thoughts. It is hard to be depressed when you are thinking about God and how good He is.
Strength
Certain passages also tell us to love God with all of our strength. I deal with adrenal fatigue and fibromyalgia so there are days that I do not feel very strong. But even when I don’t have energy, I can love God with whatever amount of strength I have. Some days, that might be mentally praising Him and thanking Him for His goodness. When I am having a better day, it could be using that strength to serve in some way. No matter how I feel, I can almost always send a text or an email to share God’s love with others and put a smile on someone’s face. If you are God’s child, His love should protrude from you to everyone around you.
The bottom line is that it’s not enough to say you love God. Do you love Him in reality? Does His love permeate the depths of your being? Is your love anchored in who He is or merely what He does? I believe the answer to these questions are part of making our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10).
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