Jesus was asked what is the most important commandment? He replied,
Love the Lord your God with ALL YOUR HEART.
To love somebody with all your heart is to give yourself to them; to share your most intimate parts with them; to prioritize them in your life; to give them your time and attention. So when Jesus tells us to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, He is telling us to focus on Him; to give our attention to Him; to seek Him passionately; to fall in love with Him.
God wants our endless effort. He doesn’t want us to turn our backs to Him whenever times get tough. He wants us to love Him on the mountaintops and through the valleys; on the good days AND the bad days.
He wants us to constantly be seeking Him with all our heart. This means to seek Him in your every day; in the faces of the people you walk by; in the music you listen to; in the shows you watch on TV; in the books you read. Better yet? Listen to worship music about God. Watch Christian shows. Read Christian books.
And when there are moments you don’t feel Christ in your life, take a step back and ask whether or not you have been loving Him with all your heart. Have you been praising Him? Have you been worshipping Him only?
*We’re told to live in the fruits of the Holy Spirit, because in those fruits you have freedom… You can move around freely within those emotions and commands. They don’t lead to sin or hatred or anger or bitterness. They don’t lead to ways that create stone hearts… But if you’re not living in the fruits of the spirit, you attract negative influences to corrupt your heart, thus making it extremely hard to love your God with ALL of your heart.
Love the Lord your God with ALL YOUR SOUL.
I believe that every single soul knows God and wants to follow God. But as humans, with sin in our lives, we allow our souls to be “played with” by the devil. What I mean by this is that when we choose to look at, follow, and worship other “gods,” we open up a door for Satan to send his evil ones through to us. We allow the master of confusion into our lives. We allow Satan access to our eternal life… And as the Bible warns us, the only way to Heaven is through Jesus. So, to worship (or idolize) anyone or anything else is to allow them to lead us into the depths of Hell.
To love the Lord your God with all your soul is to love Him no matter what you are feeling or how your life is going. To love Him with all your soul is to surrender yourself before Him; to follow His word and His will; to humble yourself in everything you do.
Our souls are eternal, so to love Him with all our soul is to love Him eternally. Love Him with an everlasting love. Love Him as if He were your soul-mate, because He is. Your soul belongs to God; it belongs in Heaven with Him for eternity.
*Your soul is your being. It’s your conscience. So consciously be aware of what you are consuming and be surrounded with.
Love the Lord your God with ALL YOUR MIND.
1 Peter 5:8 warns us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour…”
Your mind is a busy place. It’s full of your thoughts, knowledge and wisdom, your plans, your fears and anxieties, and more. With all of that going on in your mind, it can become quite jumbled.
If we are not actively seeking the Lord and focusing on our relationship with Him, our minds can become twisted and easily confused. If we allow our minds to become consumed by worldly things, we allow our minds to be devoured by the devil. If we lack the discipline in keeping the Lord first, and instead push Him to the back of our minds, we will fall out of love with Him.
This is why Jesus spoke these exact words: Love the Lord your God with ALL your mind; not part, not some, ALL. Stay alert and disciplined in your walk with the Lord. Praise Him throughout your day, thank Him for little things along your way, stay grateful and joyful for all that He has provided for you. Seek Him when your mind begins to get cluttered with the ways of this world and ask Him to renew your mind with His loving word.
Love the Lord your God with ALL YOUR STRENGTH.
Your strength is your will. When we are unmotivated, uninspired, and feeling weak in our faith, our will is what pushes us forward. Our will to continue forming and keeping our relationship with the Lord is what will keep us worshipping Him over anything else. Our discipline in creating and following a routine to keep us faithful is our way of loving the Lord. Strengthen your will by working on your relationship with the Lord as much as you would work on your relationship with your husband or wife — and if you wouldn’t work very hard on your relationship with your partner… How can you expect to have a strong relationship with them?
We must fight those lazy thoughts to watch TV instead of reading our Bible. We must fight those urges to stay in bed instead of going to church. We must fight with all our strength to love the Lord our God.
AND THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT COMMANDMENT IS…
If you enjoyed the information here, you can read more in my book where I speak more on this topic:
