So, my pastor was preaching this morning and it was that passage in Mark 12 where the scribe was asking Jesus what the most important commandment.

Of course, it was; "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

So, he encouraged us to think about what that meant, and I (like I so often do) decided to research it out.
So, I'm sitting here at home, getting ready to research, and I start out by trying to find verses, and realized that I was completely stumped.

I think I've gotten loving Him with my mind figured out fairly well...
I.e. - Thinking about Him, memorizing His Word, and using my knowledge/logic (not like I have much of the logic or anything) to find out more about Him.

My sister gave me the idea to take the soul/mind/heart/strength, and writing about what each of them do, and maybe I'd get some answers that way, so I'm going to try that too.

I guess my question is :how do I love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength?
What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks guys!

I could be very wrong about this, but I believe that when God tells us to love Him, he wants to see action. I think by doing the works, our love (as an emotion) for Him grows. The more time we spend with Him, the more obedient we become, the less we desire wordly things, and the more we desire God, because we are abiding in Him and see his goodness.

Love begins with God.

"We love Him, beacuse He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

This is so due to a positive reaction to his love. As Jesus commanded the Laodicean church:

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." Revelation 3:19

I've never yet been able to willingly choose to feel love for someone, but by serving I have come to regard certain people more affectionately. Likewise with God, and in doing that it manifests itself twofold, as the more I love God, them more I love the people He died for.

The way we love God with all our heart is by making the sacrifices He desires us to make in order to follow and serve Him. Love is a verb. So I would conclude by what you're saying that you're on the right track.

God bless.

Thanks Rayn!

That helps a lot. I'll definitely be keeping that in mind! =]

Glaaad I could help.

I imagine it like this.
It's like the worlds strongest man competition.
They have a rope tied around their waist, and they are pulling an airplane.
You can see how hard they are trying.
They are giving it everything they got.
Loving God with our mind, soul, strength, and heart is like this.
Loving God with every inch of everything we got.

This post has been edited by h03t: Nov 2 2009, 05:08 AM

^Niiicee! Thanks Caleb!

One thing that I believe was revealed to me last night, while I was spending time with my Lord- loving God with all my strength.
Could that possibly mean to be courageous in showing and sharing God's love with others, and defending His Word and Himself with everything I am, even to the point of dying for Him?

The whole "no greater love has any man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends" (quoting that from off the top of my head, so it's probably messed up slightly) might confirm that?
Possibly?

I think I'm finally getting this... still not sure on how to love Him with all of my soul though... :/

It could be physical strength. I can love God when I choose to serve him, even when I'm really tired. When I don't have strength, he can give me more.

And that verse is John 15:13.

I would say that God only wants us to do our absolute best in whatever He's called us to do. God rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). God wants all of our lives, so diligence when applied to God is allowing Him to have all of you. Desire to glorify Him in everything you do. Never put your hand to the plow and look back (Luke 9:62).

Loving Him with all of your soul could be reading scripture and putting it into action. That's how God grows, sanctifies, and purifies us. Make sense?

This post has been edited by Rayn: Nov 2 2009, 07:43 PM

Thanks guys!
I think I can honestly say that CTF members are the coolest online people I know.

Steph: I can definitely get that. I think that my pastor did touch on that, so I'll have to go back and listen to it again once I get the chance, and see if I missed anything. Thanks for finding the verse reference!

I think I heard once that one of the things our relationship with God can be likened to is a relationship between a loving Master and one of His servants. We don't serve Him out of obligation, but because we love Him.

Rayn: I can see that. It should be about that. The thing that is confusing me is that one of the things my pastor used as a reference is that our souls are eternal. I guess that if I work on applying scripture to my life, then if it is real (meaning the application), then that would stick with me throughout eternity.

Again, I'm going to have to listen again to see if I missed anything. I sat next to my 5 year old sister the entire time, and she was acting up, so I very well might have missed something. Kids are distracting.

This is definitely making much more sense to me than it did yesterday. I just need to spend more time in prayer and study, and I know that He'll reveal it to me.

Thanks for the replies!! 's to all!

Edit for clarification: The fact that our souls are eternal isn't confusing me, but how do we do something that will last into eternity? But, I guess that the application of the Scriptures would last if applied correctly. Otherwise, it just wouldn't be real.

This post has been edited by Lydia: Nov 2 2009, 10:26 PM

Eh, I can't think of any scripture having to do with that at the moment. But, my conclusion is that, while our souls are everlasting, people are not perfect, and as imperfect beings we have the ability to grow and change. Likewise, our emotions are a rollercoaster that often times effects how we apply ourselves. Whether that change is infinite or not, I can't really decide right now. Good question.

Edit: I guess growth is permanent. The lessons we learn and the things God shows us really can't be taken away. But we still stumble and fall, nevertheless God is waiting to pick us up and continue right where he left off. I think that's what you were asking, anyways.

This post has been edited by Rayn: Nov 2 2009, 11:07 PM

I read Matthew chapter 6 today, and one thing I might suggest is that you do the same. Especially focus on verses 19-24, where Jesus speaks of possessions, and then think of any possessions you have on earth that might hinder your relationship with God. You could make a list, and then pray to God to help you value those things less, or else get rid of them.

Just a thought.

Well, I went back and listened to the sermon again, just to see if there was anything I missed, but I guess really the whole "loving God with all your heart/soul/mind/ and strength was more of a challenge to search it out for myself.

My pastor didn't mention it too much, the sermon was focused more on telling whether or not you were a true Christian, or if you were just learning His Word just to learn it, searching through the Scriptures, seeking God, valuing His Word, that His Word would bring us to Him, and more of the stuff like that.

So my next approach will probably be to find some good commentaries, and research Deuteronomy 6:5, Mark 12 28-34, and I Corinthians 13 (to get a better definition of love).

I'll definitely be researching those verses that you gave me too, Rayn! Thanks for those.

Here's a link to the sermon, just in case anyone is interested in listening:

http://hopewellarp.org/audio/11_01_09.mp3

(oh and if you hear kids in the back... my church is like 75% kids, and my 2 year old sister is the loudest of them... so, you can probably safely assume that is her.)

John Wesley's commentary on Luke 10:27
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God - That is, thou shalt unite all the faculties of thy soul to render him the most intelligent and sincere, the most affectionate and resolute service. We may safely rest in this general sense of these important words, if we are not able to fix the particular meaning of every single word. If we desire to do this, perhaps the heart, which is a general expression, may be explained by the three following, With all thy soul, with the warmest affection, with all thy strength, the most vigourous efforts of thy will, and with all thy mind or understanding, in the most wise and reasonable manner thou canst; thy understanding guiding thy will and affections.

And on Mark 12:30
With all thy strength - That is, the whole strength and capacity of thy understanding, will, and affections.

And St. Thomas Aquinas on Mark 12:30
And therefore there is added, “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord thy God is one God.” He mentions the first and greatest commandment of all; this is that to which each of us must give the first place in his heart, as the only foundation of piety, that is, the knowledge and confession of the Divine Unity, with the practice of good works, which is perfected in the love of God and our neighbour.

Wherefore there is added, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

Theophylact: See how He has enumerated all the powers of the soul; for there is a living power in the soul, which He explains, when He says, “With all thy soul,” and to this belong anger and desire, all of which He will have us give to Divine love.

There is also another power, which is called natural, to which belong nutriment and growth, and this also is all to be given to God, for which reason He says, “With all thy heart.”

There is also another power, the rational, which He calls the mind, and that too is to be given whole to God.

Gloss.: The words which are added, “And with all thy strength,” may be referred to the bodily powers.

If you want more: www.ccel.org is awesome.



xD

I think the fact that you're researching all this is very wise, but don't forget the spiritual aspect of loving God. To understand the spiritual aspect, you need to ask God for wisdom. We cannot (naturally) understand or comprehend God's spirit, but God gives us understanding of it.
john 4:24 - God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Thanks for the commentary references, Rayn!
I really appreciate your posts in here!

Cold: Thanks for the reminder. So many times I forget that I'm not the one "in charge", but God is, and I'm not going to learn anything correctly unless I turn to Him for instruction. =]

Well I would just say that your love for God will come naturally after learning about Him and the Bible
and having Him do certain things in your life. I've also prayed that I would know how much God loves me and I pray that I would love him more.

This post has been edited by ilovejesusxoxo: Nov 13 2009, 08:49 PM