"And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord; And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."
Mark 12:29-30
Part 4
Yesterday: Giving God the Right Place in My Heart
“Love the Lord thy God,”
“With all thy heart.”
My heart belongs to God. He must have first place.
Today: Loving Him with My Soul and Mind
“Love the Lord thy God,”
“With all thy soul.”
The original use of the Greek word translated as “soul” are our words “breath,” “life,” “breath of life,” and some other thoughts. Matthew used this word to talk of baby Jesus’ “life.”
“Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life” (Matthew 2:20).
It is also used for the “Good Shepherd’s” relationship to His sheep.
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
In this same sense, believers, let us love the Lord by giving Him our lives! Living for Him!
We love our Creator. He has given us the “breath of life.” It just makes common sense that we act with our lives by loving and serving Him. With this very action of living for Him, we are showing our love for Him.
“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live” (Deuteronomy 30:6).
We love the Lord with our very lives! We freely give ourselves to Him because we love Him!
“Love the Lord thy God,”
“With all thy mind.”
We love God in our thoughts, understanding, and minds! Vincent calls this our “Moral understanding.”[1] This is the action of using our minds for Jesus Christ and His glory.
“This commands our intellectual nature: Thou shalt put intelligence into thine affection – in opposition to a blind devotion, or mere devoteeism”[2] (JFB).
God expects His child to use his/her mind. There is no part of this life where we are safe to coast without using our minds! We especially need our minds to be in full gear in our worship and our churches. By using our minds, we may be unified in our testimony for Jesus Christ.
“That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:6).
How can I love God with my strength? Tomorrow we will look at this. See you then.
Quote: “Realize that God uses the fires of life to purify your faith, to shape you into Christ’s image, and to cause you to love Him…even more!”[3] (Elizabeth George).
[1] M.R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword. Mark 12:30.
[2] Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. Mark 12:30.
[3] Quote from George’s book, Loving God with All Your Mind. Downloaded: Tuesday, January 6, 2021.
From: https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2022047-loving-god-with-all-your-mind-george-elizabeth-insp.