With All My Heart

I don't think this greatest-commandment-verse is written in any old random order - I think it is very intentional.

 "Love the Lord your God with all your (1) heart, with all your (2) soul, with all your (3) mind, and with all your (4) strength." --Mark 12:30


It's not a coincidence, it's very much on purpose.

Jesus, quoting from the Old Testament, tells us how to love, and by the way, this concept of loving God with our whole being is found in Deuteronomy no less than thirteen times.  The book of Deuteronomy is one long sermon given by Moses to help prepare the Israelites for their new life in the Promised Land.  What is the repeating theme, over and over again?  Love the Lord your God with all you heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.


This command (the only command we need) starts with, first off, love the Lord your God with all your heart.  We consider ourselves rational thinkers, and when we stop to consider the order of how one should love God, I bet we'll jump  first to love the Lord your God with all your mind every time.  When our minds are informed with the truth, when we have all the facts, when we have settled all the arguments, then, and only then, are we ready to love God.  I know this is the way I was taught.  I remember an illustration about a train.  It only ran when it was powered by fact, which was fueled by faith.  Feeling came last, and was definitely not to be trusted,  There was a general reaction to the Jesus movement by conservative Christianity that a faith fueled by emotion was shallow at best, if it could be called faith at all.  I think the Jesus movement grabbed people by the heart - which is exactly the place to begin loving Jesus.  When the facts come first, it is all too easy to forget how to love with all our hearts.

Loving God with all our mind is number three on the list, not number one.

How on earth do I go about loving God with all my heart?  What does that even mean?  I understand it in a limited way because I've been married to the same man for the past 36 years, and I think I can honestly say I love him with my whole heart.  My heart is fully his, and it belongs to no one else.  In fact, I can't even imagine sharing it with another man.  During the past three years Flyboy has survived two encounters with cancer and a mega-virus that landed him in the hospital for a week.  We have had more than one conversation about the what-ifs and Flyboy has said out loud that if he precedes me in death I should remarry.  I can't even begin to conceive of such a thing.  He is the only man for me and I have no room in my heart for anyone else.

Which just barely scratches the surface of what loving God with our whole heart might look like...