Loving God With All Your Soul

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37[1]

Great crowds followed Jesus as his teaching intensified. Jewish leaders infiltrated the crowds and threw questions at Jesus to assert their authority and discredit Jesus. These Jewish leaders saw the crowd's favor escalating as they shouted praise and showed homage to Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem. What should be done to quiet this man? The Jewish leaders laid plans to trap Jesus in his words. They devised questions about taxes, questions about the resurrection, and now this question. An expert in the law was chosen for the attack. “Teacher,” he said, “which is the greatest commandment?” As always, without hesitation Jesus replies. Above all their laws, traditions, and self-righteousness Jesus sets this ‘simple’ command, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ The leaders were silenced and from that day no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Jesus’ words still speak powerfully to us. This command has been a guiding truth for God’s children through the ages. Jesus’ call to love God with all our being teaches us to keep God first above all else, it inspires us to service in His name, and it reminds us to choose the path of righteousness.

But what does he mean that we are to love God with all our soul? Much has been written about the richness and depth of this command. One BibleProject video,[2] for example, gives insight into the biblical meaning of ‘soul.’ This truth is certainly worth studying. Why not start with a word search of scriptures using ‘my soul’ or ‘your soul.’ Bringing verses together helps us see how they expand on each other.

So rather than go there, I’d like to suggest another focus for us to consider today. It’s a message that has been ringing in my soul again lately and that is, ‘Love God!’ I hear Jesus inviting me, ‘Come, beloved one, and meditate on Love.’  And I wonder, will a deeper grasp of God’s love ignite my heart, my soul, and my mind to respond more readily with love?

And so, I listen to the invitation again. ‘Come, beloved one, and meditate on Love.’  Will you join me? Together let’s practice filling our souls with God’s love so we can overflow with love from our soul back to God.

Read

• 1 John 3:1 – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! ...”
• 1 John 4:10 – “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us…”
• 1 John 4:19 – “We love because he first loved us.”
• Ephesians 3:17 -19 – “…I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Think
Review the passages again and ponder the word or phrase that stands out to you. What do you see of Jesus’ heart in it? What truth is captured here? Turn this word or phrase over and over in your mind—gently, like a fragile treasure.

Pray
Ask the Holy Spirit to impart Jesus’ message for you from these passages. What is he inviting you to consider? To do? To know? Open your heart and ask him to write his love deeply within you.

Rest
Sit quietly with what you have heard or sensed or experienced. Let all other thoughts go, except the reality of God’s presence here and now, with you. Let him love you. If it helps, play worship music in the background. If your mind gets distracted, gently whisper “I receive your love” or “I love you, Lord.”[3]

And now I see that this is not love of my own making. This is not me exerting my heart, or exerting my mind, or exerting my soul to love. No! This ‘loving the Lord God’ is always only a response to God’s lavish love for me.

Katherine Koop
Katherine serves as Global Prayer Coordinator and as a Member Care Coach. She is credentialed with the International Coaching Federation. Katherine has served Janz Team/TeachBeyond for 34 years in Germany. She has been a Resident Assistant at Black Forest Academy, a Community Outreach Coordinator, an English Camp Coordinator, and for the last 13 years has served in Member Care. Katherine loves engaging with nature in gardening, hiking, and sitting on a bench contemplating God’s beauty. She is a proud Canadian and a life-long contented single who loves the freedom this gives her to travel. Her 15 nieces and nephews and their children bring her much joy.