Extreme Love

EXTREME LOVE!

THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!

Inspired by the Bible Study "Extreme Love: The Greatest Commandment"





When Jesus was asked which of the commandments was the most important of all, he responded with the words in Mark 12: 29-30, "The most important one 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 heart is the center of our physical, spiritual, and emotional life. It represents the whole person. Paul teaches that the heart of every believer is the dwelling place of God. In order to be saved, we must first believe in our heart (Romans 10:9).



The soul is often thought of as the "inner" person. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament equate the soul with the total person. Similar to the heart, the soul is often mentioned in connection with passion and emotion. Therefore, loving God with all your soul would also mean to love him with energy and passion! The body and soul are weaved together by God. (Psalm 139:13) Human beings are incomplete without both. Therefore, we should also love God with our body through the way we use and care for it.



The mind is the center of thought. It is the place of knowledge and intellectual activity. What we fill our mind with determines our thought life which in turn influences our heart and soul. Psalm 119:11 teaches us to hide the Word of God in our heart. In order to do that, we must first put it into our mind and then allow it to be absorbed by our heart. If we love God with all our mind, we think on the things of God and grow our intellect accordingly. Then, we will be allowing Him to develop our mind to be used for His Glory and His purpose.



Because "... the Lord our God, the Lord is One", and we are made in His image, as believers we are one with Him. Our heart, soul, and mind are all interconnected to complete His image and that is the image we should desire to reflect to a lost and dying world. To love God with all of our heart, soul and mind is to love Him wholly and to love Him with all our strength which comes through Christ (Phil. 4:13). Now that's EXTREME!