Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength

"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.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31)

Earlier today I was taking a look at the three instances where those two principles (love the Lord and love others) are prominent in the Gospel accounts:
Matthew 22:34-40
Mark 12:28-34
Luke 10:25-37

When I think of those two principles, I mostly think of them as Jesus' response to the question, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Which is the case in the Matthew and Mark passages. However, it's the 3rd instance that got my attention today...

Luke recounts a different conversation with similar content. In this case, an "expert in the law" attempts to test Jesus with the question, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" So obviously, this is a much bigger, more important question... it deals with eternity! This is more than just getting Jesus' opinion about the commandments that it's important to follow, this is about what is necessary in order to be in God's presence forever!

Those of us who have opportunities to teach in various settings should note how Jesus handles the situation. He puts the issue back on the asker (student) by asking His own question... "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?"

The expert responds well by quoting Duet. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

Jesus' response is "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live."

So the answer to both questions, the question about the most important commandment and the question about eternal life, is the same! I know it's a simple realization on my part, but I'm struck by fact that these principles are not only "rules" that Jesus thinks we should follow, these are principles by which we, as believers, should live our lives.

To spend eternity with God, we must love God. We must be totally (heart, soul, mind and strength) devoted to loving our God! And loving our neighbor, those around us, will be a natural byproduct of our desire to love and know God.