Matthew 22:36-38 (NLT)
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
How do you love God? Do you love Him with your heart? Do you love Him with your soul? Do you love Him with all your mind? This is not a series of trick questions, but very serious ones. It is important to love God not with just one variable of your life or a combination of two, but we are commanded to love God with our heart, soul and mind. Without this partnership, our faith is weak and our love for God is very fickle. Like a recipe missing a key ingredient, the outcome is unsatisfactory and often not palatable. My middle son is a very logistical. He is a scientific thinker who carefully researches all variables before making a decision. However, once his mind is made up – it is impossible to change. For example, once he decided that Jesus Christ was for real – His faith is unwavering. He trusts God with his mind completely. However, this particular person does not have strong emotions unlike most people. My second child is seldom swayed by passion or enthusiasm as it is simply not logical. On the bright side, he doesn’t get depressed either. He just cruises through life steadily without highs or lows. Unlike my first child who is driven by his passionate nature but lacks the logistical certainty of his brother as his heart is readily displayed on his sleeve. Both are unique individuals who are learning to love God with their whole life just with personalities driven differently – one by the mind and one by the heart. The Lord desires all of us to experience a threefold relationship with Him. People vary in composition of each personality. Some rely heavily on their heart (emotions), others on their soul (the Spirit) and the rest on the mind (logic) creating the vast variety of people inhabiting the earth today. God desires unity in His People and the Body of Christ should be carefully knit together composed of individuals that develop an understanding of the importance of loving their Father with their heart, soul and mind. It takes all three parts to have productive faith. However, given the example of my children such is the difficulty for many people. The focal point of faith is usually driven by our guiding force in life. Today – let’s explore the three ways we are commanded to love God. You will find yourself squarely planted in one description or maybe a combination of two, but the third will allow you to discern the area that needs the greatest attention as we strive to connect with our Amazing God through Jesus Christ.
THE HEART (Emotions)
Psalm 119:1-3 (NLT)
Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil and they walk only in his paths.
Human emotion and desire are powerful driving forces of mankind. People are enticed from the Will of God chasing their emotions. Happiness is credited with joy when really it is a fleeting emotion. Joy comes from the Lord. True joy comes even if happiness is not present. Emotions unchecked can wreck havoc on God’s People and have many, many times. From the Old Testament until today, fiery passion and uncontrolled desire have led many from the Light of Salvation into the darkness of despair. Impulsive natures will for immediate results and constant gratification causing emotions to give our flesh leadership of our lives. Suffering is unacceptable to those driven by emotion. Bad days will not be tolerated. Circumstances and situations are a sign of devastation rather than moments before victory to those who cannot see past the smokescreen of emotional bondage. Those who do not fight for control of their emotions will fail in faith. Faith cannot be seen or touched but must be lived from the inside out. The heart must be focused on seeking the Face of God no matter what the emotional price. A heart yielded will be broken. God is making room for more of His Spirit. Your soul is required to make a resting place for God’s Advocate. Is your heart fixed on the Lord today? Or do emotions lead your life? Your heart must be fixed on God to experience love, hope, joy and peace that cannot be stripped away easily. Faith is the foundation of such growth in God’s Way. Hope is the byproduct of a life that has established control of its emotions and yielded their heart to Jesus Christ. To love God with our heart is to establish our emotions on the fruit of the Spirit and not human expectation. Diligently submitting our emotions to Jesus Christ for constant evaluation and reworking are essential and important. God desires our passion fully and unconditionally. Our emotions have a part in this process.
THE SOUL (Holy Spirit)
Mark 3:28-30 (NLT)
“I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.” He told them this because they were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”
Romans 15:13 (NLT)
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is part of our triune God. The Trinity consists of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We must love God with our soul evidenced by total acceptance and welcoming of God’s Spirit. Without God’s Spirit living within the human soul, it would be impossible to decipher God’s Way and understand the workings of the Lord. He is our advocate and cannot be ignored. The Holy Spirit was sent to dwell in the human heart and activate the soul of mankind to enable us to love God and know Him. However, many people disregard the indwelling Spirit. “It is a sin with eternal consequences” are the Words of Jesus concerning such an attitude. I do not think the Lord was saying that if you “insult” the Spirit of God that you will immediately go to hell, do not pass go or gain entrance into Heaven. But what I do believe the Lord is telling us as the Body of Christ is that it is impossible to find entrance into Eternity without the assistance and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Do not forsake His Spirit or you will remain lost. It is a logistical factor not an emotional response to rejection by God. God’s emotions are pure where people are flawed. If God was driven by the same emotion as mankind, He would have wiped us off the planet a long, long time ago. His Spirit takes the emotions of man and remolds them to take into consideration what is relevant to God discarding the foolishness of man. Such knowledge takes hold in the human mind and develops into Godly Character that produces faith and trust in God which in turn becomes righteousness. The Holy Spirit takes residence in the heart and applies Godly knowledge to your life. Without the Spirit, it would be impossible to love God or know Him. Have you acknowledged the Spirit of the Living God in your life? Learning to listen to the Voice of God on the inside of you will make tangible changes to your life. His Guidance is essential to a Godly, Christ-focused existence and guidance of the heart and mind.
THE MIND (Intellect/Logic)
I Corinthians 2:13-15 (NLT)
When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritualcan’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
Your mind is essential in the process of righteousness. Faith must be based on total trust in God and understanding of who He is and how He operates. It must be decisive and unwavering to be considered real and valid. You must love God with your heart AND mind. Love is a commitment which is a choice or decision to be made. However, while it is important to make up our mind about God once and for all without our heart and soul, it is pointless. Love requires emotion and the Spirit of God. Mankind struggles to make up their mind about God. Is He all-powerful? Is He real? Is it all a big hoax? Maybe I should just cover my bases and believe in everything? Confused people unable to accept the Deity of God in its fullest and commit their mind to knowing and understanding God. Once your mind decides that God is real and worth following your heart and soul will surely follow – they have to. It requires all three to love God the way He intended AND the way He loves you. Satan has tried to divide man’s being with a heart after one thing, a soul longing for another and a mind completely confused. When we focus all aspects of our life in pursuing God, the enemy loses. The enemy is the author of confusion because it is his most useful tactic against mankind. Such division results in spiritual failure every time because a major segment of man is left unsatisfied and longing.
Make loving God your primary drive and aspiration in life pulling together your heart, soul and mind. The enemy will be defeated in your life instantly. You will triumph in all circumstances and thrive in this life. Eternity will be your destination as the Spirit of God leads you to victory. If you do nothing else for the Lord today, follow the commandment of God to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” It is a goal that results in a total life transformation even if not one factor or detail of your life changes, you will be changed. Empowerment comes through unification. Create inner unity by calling forth your entire being to love God with your heart, soul and mind. You will prosper.
Psalm 1:2-3 (NLT)
But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
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