All Of What?

Read Proverbs 13

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Mark 12:29-31

This marks our fifth look at this Greatest Commandment. The first four have been general attempts to see the big picture of our relationship with God and our neighbor. Our remaining meditations on this passage will focus on individual aspects of the command.

For instance, when we quote or think about the first part of the verse, we tend to mentally shorten it to “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” We leave out the clearly repeated “all your” that introduces each human component. The summary may help us clarify the main point of the commandment, but it doesn’t help us apply it very well.

The task of meditation forces us to consider some important questions: What is the difference between loving God with “all your heart” and loving God with “all your mind”? What does it mean to love God with “all your soul”? How does “all your strength” fit with the other three? Keep these questions in mind. Meditate toward answers on your own.

A WORD FOR TODAY

The greatest proverb—“Love God.”

Lord Jesus, you said this was the most important commandment. Help me treat these words that way—seeking to understand and to put into practice your priorities.