And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thy self.
This should be our highest priority!!!
What does it mean for a believer to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind? We are going to look at all four catagories; not only will we see we should love Him, also how we can learn to love Him.
First Love God With All Our Hearts
Proverbs 4:23
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Out of the heart comes the issues of life:
We live life from the inside out. All lives policies, decisions, believing (negative or postitive) come from the heart. The mind houses our thoughts but the innermost part of that mind is called the heart.
To love God with all our hearts does not mean mental assent, but with the innermost part of our mind, with all our believing, with everything we have within.
Psalms 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
To love God with all our heart means putting God's Word in our heart. The Word does not automatically float up to our mind and park itself, it must be read and studied. The Word does not automatically permeate (seep through and spread out) the innermost part of our being, it is necessary to change our thinking to line up with the Word. We have to study the Word, believe it, put it into the innermost of our mind (our heart).
Second Love God With All Our Souls
Leviticus 17:11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Soul life is in the blood. This must naturally affect physical life since blood flows throughout the whole body; that is why our souls prosper, we have health and physical strength.
3 John 1:2
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in good health, even as thy soul prospereth.
To love God with all our soul is to practice God's Word in our life. What good does it do to memorize the Word but never practice it? The more you put the Word in your life into practice the more you receive health and prosperity.
Third Love God With All Your Strength
Strength is ability in action. When we love God in everything we do we receive the Word in our hearts, retain it in our lives, then release it in our actions.
James 2:18
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
When we are believing we act, this demonstrates that we are loving God with all our heart, all our souls and all our strength (action)
Fourth Love God With All Our Minds
Although mind is last on the list, its actually the starting point. The whole organic process begins by putting thoughts from God's Word into the mind, the Word enters our heart and from there it emanates (flows) into our lives and actions.
Mark 12:32-34
And the scribe said unto him, Well, master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
The scribe substituted the word "understanding" for mind (verse 33). The word understanding is interesting; to love God with all our mind we put the Word foremost in our thoughts, one thought at a time. Understanding is the Greek word Sunesis which means flowing together, thoughts flowing together in the mind bring understanding. Getting an understanding means getting the Word in the mind, then into the uttermost part of the mind, the heart. When God's Word saturates our hearts, lives and actions, we can love God with all our heart, soul, strength, because we have an understanding in our minds. Developing an understanding of God's Word is foundational to loving God with all our hearts, lives and actions.
To Love God With All Our Heart, Soul, Strength And Mind
First - put the Word in our mind, think about it so it flows together.
Second - as we gain an understanding in our minds and control our thinking, we receive that Word into our hearts, than we have heart for God.
Third - we retain the Word as we practice God's Word in our lives. That is how we love God with all our soul.
Fourth - to love God with all our strength is to love God in all that we do with all the abilities we have, that means putting His Word first in our hearts and lives and acting according to that Word to produce results to glorify God.
When we love God with all our heart, life and action, we are truly and totally loving God.
God bless and keep you.
