“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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 12:29-30
A teacher of the law once asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment. Jesus replied saying that we should love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30, Deuteronomy 6:4-5). He also states that we should love our neighbour as ourselves (Mark 12:31, Leviticus 19:18)
So what is love and how can we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength?
To love someone is to always cherish, value, care, trust and protect them no matter what. They have a special and important place in your life and you make it known to them. You always hope for the best for them and you trust that they can do the right thing.
Your heart is where all your desires and wants come from. To love the Lord with all your heart is to put Him as the most important in your life and what you want and desire the most. You desire to follow the ways of the Lord and live to please Him (Psalm 40:3)
Your soul is your personality and emotions. It is who you are. To love the Lord with all your soul is to place your trust in Him and to find your delight and hope in Him (Psalm 43:5).
Your mind is where you do all your thinking, make all your decisions, and reflect on your actions. To love the Lord with all your mind is to have the Lord constantly in your mind. To always think and reflect about the Lord, who He is, and His ways and choosing to follow his ways (Psalm 119:97)
Your strength is all the gifts and abilities you have, including perseverance. To love the Lord with all your strength is to do everything you can to bring honour and glory to God. In whatever deeds you do or words you say, you do it all for the Lord (Colossians 3:17).
To love the Lord is the sole reason we live. Each day is another day to love the Lord, to experience life with Him, to praise Him and to glorify Him. It is such a delight to love the Lord and follow His ways, it’s hard to imagine this is just the beginning of eternity.
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
2 Thessalonians 3:5
