On a recent Saturday morning, I sat in the stillness. My mug of hot coffee in my hands brings warmth and comfort, a sense of peace and well-being. It is my favorite time of day as nothing has yet taken place and yet, everything is yet going to take place.
The verse comes to mind and I reach for my Bible which is next to me on the couch. One of the Pharisees asked Jesus a question in an attempt to test Him, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
“And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38, NASB)
When Jesus used the word “great” here, He used the Greek word “protos” from which we get our English word “priority”. Basically, Jesus is telling us that these words are to be a priority in our lives.
All our heart. All our soul. All our mind.
Interesting progression. I sat looking at the verse and finally questioned, “Why? Why that order? Don’t we need to know God in order to love God?”
I admit – I ask a lot of questions. I ask them of myself, of others, and of God. The answer came softly as the sun began to brighten the sky …
“If you love the Lord with all your heart, the other two will follow suit.”
Our hearts are critical in this battle of faith. We can know about God in our minds and not love Him. But we can’t love the Lord and not know Him. We must set our hearts on Him and then our minds will also be fully engaged and set on Him and things above.
My mind begins to think on the tanker currently wedged in the Suez Canal. Loss of power caused it to lose its ability to stay on course, centered in the canal, and safely making passage. It knew with its mind what it was supposed to do but had lost its heart (ability and fortitude) to do so.
The tanker brings another Scripture to mind. James tells us if we lack wisdom, we only need to ask of God, who will supply it to us generously. He also exhorts us to ask in faith, not doubting, so that we will not be tossed about by the wind. He describes the man who asks of God while doubting:
“For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:8, NASB)
There’s our word again, and the word is “all”. And it is also the answer to my question about the progression Jesus used. If we are not all in, we will be unstable in all our ways.
All our heart,
all our soul,
all our mind,
brings stability in all our ways.
Today I am joining …
I’ve never even considered the order in that verse! Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I love your insights, Joanne. I’ll be pondering this more myself.
Love with all my heart, first. Your words have also brought pondering to my mind, Joanne! His words change us heart, soul and mind.
I was reading the part from Mark’s Gospel about the greatest commandment this morning so this ties in perfectly! I hadn’t thought before about how significant the order in that verse is. I loved your reflections here!
Oh, I love that time of day too, when all of the possibilities are still ahead of us. I tend to ask a lot of questions of myself and of God. The answer you got to your question was a good one. Where our hearts go, our souls and minds will follow. My mind does tend to be all over the place, argumentative and stubborn. Thank you for this reminder to lead with my heart.
Thank you, Joanne, I meditate often on this verse, I feel everything I do pivots on this verse, as Jesus said, all the law and the prophets hang on this commandment, and the second is like unto it: loving our neighbor as ourselves. very informative and encouraging post!
Joanne, this is so insightful! I’ve never really thought about the order of these words in this verse. Thank you for sharing what God showed you about that. When we love Him with all our hearts, the other things will fall into place. I’m pondering this tonight.
Great insights Joanne. “If you love the Lord with all your heart, the other two will follow suit.” I paused and reflected on your words here. They gave me one of those Ah-Ha! moments to reflect upon. This is so true. Blessings.
I was thinking how we often glibly sail past that verse because it’s so familiar. We rarely stop to ponder it as you did here. I’m struck by the repeated word “all.” We think if we give God a portion, the rest is ours. But no–we need to give all.