"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." —Mark 12:30
I find it interesting that Jesus said, " 'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength' " (Mark 12:30).
This statement reveals that God is not simply looking for some emotional, gooey kind of love. He is looking for a complete, true love.
You see, some people only love the Lord with all of their soul or with all of their emotion, but they don't love Him with all of their minds. Other people love God with all of their minds, but they neglect the emotional side of loving the Lord.
Jesus is saying, "I want a love that possesses an emotional, intellectual, and physical backbone." Jesus desires a love that draws from every fiber of your being—inside and out. Any other kind of love is no love at all.
For example, let's say you have the greatest physique with bulging biceps, protruding pecs, and rippling abs. In essence, you stand as an incredible specimen of humanity, because you sculpted your body day in and day out at the gym.
But what good is all of that muscle if you have heart disease? You may look good on the outside, but if your heart is diseased and sickened, your physique will not do you one bit of good.
In the same way, if you are attending church, reading your Bible, and praying, but your heart is spiritually diseased with a lack of love for God, you will face a similar dynamic.
Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God expressed His love for us from every fiber of His being. The very least we can do is to love Him back with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Copyright © 2008 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000
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