The Gospel of Luke chapter eleven tells us of a lawyer who was trying to discredit the Lord Jesus, so he asked, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 11:25). Jesus responded, “What is written in the law?” “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.” It was a fair quote from Deuteronomy 6:6: “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.”
It isn’t burdensome to be told to love the God who has been so faithful to all of us in every way through the years. He’s given us life, air, sunshine, food, rest, dear family, friends. Wouldn’t thanksgiving and love just spill over when you start enumerating all of God’s generous and sweet gifts?
And I think I understand the difference between loving God with your mind and heart and soul. “Mind” would be intellectual understanding. “Soul” would be the decisions of the will. “Heart” would be emotions and passion to enjoy God’s presence. But how can I love God with all my strength? Isn’t that a purely physical, bodily thing?
This week I found a hint of the answer in Psalm 63:1 “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.” In Psalm 84:22 the Psalmist says, “With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God!”
Several years ago I woke up with every bone in my body aching. The doctor diagnosed it as PMR—I won’t bore you with the 10-syllable Latin name—but it soon cleared up with the proper medication. In that time of terrible pain I discovered bones I never knew I had! But with those arthritic, aching bones, can I still love God with my strength, and praise Him? Yes, I can and I will. With everything that I am, body and soul, I want to lift in praise to my Savior.
Then comes the obvious question: Shouldn’t real love express itself bodily as well as in words and feelings? Are professions of ardent love meaningful if there is no evidence of real caring in actions? A man I once knew professed to love his wife deeply. But when a ball game was on TV, and he ran out of beer, he sent his wife, nine-months pregnant with his child, out in the rain to the store to buy him another six-pack so he wouldn’t miss a single play!
In Deuteronomy 30:16, the Lord God repeated that first and great command, with an addition, the result of loving Him with all your strength: obeying Him.
For I command you today to love the LORD your God,
to walk in His ways, and to keep his commands. . .
Then you will live and increase,
and the LORD your God will bless you in the land.
May God help us to honor our merciful God with heart and soul, mind and body!