“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40
It’s hard to pick the most important passage in the Bible when every word is God-breathed. All of Scripture matters, no doubt.
But if we had to pick one verse or passage that stands above the rest in summarizing what God desires from us, we might turn to Matthew 22:36-40.
Here, a religious expert asks Jesus a pointed question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus answers: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Now, entire books could be written on this one command. Entire classes could be taught about it. Entire lifetimes could be spent trying to live it out.
But as I read these words today, I notice three specific areas Jesus calls us to love God with. And I wonder if it might be wise for each of us to pause and focus on how we are doing in each one.
First, to love the Lord our God with all our mind means we set our thoughts on Him.
It would mean that we choose to dwell on Him, to meditate on His truth, and to fill our minds with His words. It means we turn off the noise of the world—television, radio, social media, endless news cycles, political debates, and consumer distractions.
Instead, we love the Lord with our mind by turning our attention intentionally toward God.
Second, to love the Lord our God with all our heart means we set Him first in our affections.
He alone becomes what we desire most—not a bigger house, a nicer car, more money in the bank, greater worldly success, or any of the temporary things this world offers.
When we love God with our heart, those other desires fade in comparison.
Third, to love the Lord our God with all our soul means we give Him everything that makes us who we are.
Our soul is the core of our being—our will, our emotions, our identity. We typically think of our soul going to spend eternity with God after we die. But to love the Lord with our soul means we begin today!
It means we stop trying to hold on to both Him and the things of this world. Instead, we live in full and total relationship with Him and surrender to Him above all things. Right now.
We love God by focusing our thoughts on Him.
We love God by desiring Him above everything else.
We love God by dedicating our whole being to Him.
May we all live it today.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, teach me what it means to love You with all my heart and soul and mind. And then, by the Holy Spirit, give me the strength to live it out. Amen.