Mark 12:28-34
The Most Important Commandment
28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. 33 And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”
34 Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Mark 12:28-34
Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank you for loving us enough to send your one and only Son to earth to live the life we could not, to die a death we deserve, and to resurrect so that we could be reconciled to you. We thank you for the simplicity in his commandment for us: To love You, and to love our neighbor. We pray that we would respond to the Spirit, who is already at work within us, to love the way that you commanded us to love. We pray that we would love internally and externally. We know that we are able to love because You loved us first and we pray that our love would be the overflow of the love that you already have and continue to show us.
OVERTIME
Let's take a moment to look specifically at verse 30. "And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." That feels like a pretty hefty ask from Jesus (because it is), so let's break it down and see what it really means to love with our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Kardia (kar-dee'-ah)
The heart is not only an extremely important organ in the center of our bodies that circulates our blood and effectively keeps us alive, but it also denotes the center of all physical and spiritual life.
When Jesus says that we are to love God with all our heart He's saying that we ought to love God like our life depends on it. Loving God is as vital to our lives as our heart to the body.
Psychē (psoo-khay')
The soul is the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions, sensibilities, emotions, appetites, and passions.
The soul, when given to God, attains its highest end and secures eternal blessedness, the soul regarded as a moral being designed for everlasting life.
When Jesus says to love God with all your soul he is saying that God should be absolute center of our attention. That we should desire nothing in this world more than we desire God.
Dianoia (dee-an'-oy-ah)
The mind is the faculty of understanding, feeling, desiring. Where the soul is the expression of emotions that originate in our amygdala, the mind is has to do with thoughts that flow from our cerebrum.
When Jesus says we are to love God with all our mind he is saying that we ought to truly understand why we love God.
Ischys (is-khoos')
Our strength is our ability, force, or might. Simply put, our strength is the physical aspect of our being.
When Jesus says to love God with all our strength he is saying that our actions ought to reflect our love for God.