One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
> Love with all your heart
> Love with all your soul
> Love with all your mind
> Love with all your strength
Normally, I’ve came away from this passage hearing Jesus say you need to love God with everything you have. And while that is true, this morning my mind began to wonder.
What does it mean to love with your heart? How is that different from loving with your soul? What new perspective comes when you start loving with your mind? What changes when you start loving with your strength?
The Sh'ma Yisroel or just Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-6) is the centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer service… a prayer that dates back thousands of years before Christ. And, as this passage from Mark relates, the most important commandment of all.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to spend some time reflecting on what it means to Love the Lord in these different ways. Let’s see where this goes…
2 comments:
nice ed...I have been working on a teaching series on the same passage. Wonder what God is up to with this?
looks like a good thing to reflect on. i hope to read more.
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