We began last week with this scripture
Mark 12:28-30
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
I hope this week you will take notes again so you can review this teaching to bring deeper growth.
We talked about loving God with all of our hearts and minds just as a reminder…
To love God with all your heart is to:
– Vigilantly guard your “heart” life so your love remains undivided (Proverbs 4:23).
– Desire God above all else, even when your strength fails (Psalm 73:25,26).
– Align your priorities and investments to reflect that He is your treasure (Matthew 6:21).
It is a call to deep, undistracted affections, pure devotion, and practical alignment with God in every dimension of your “heart” world.
To love God with all your mind is to:
– Renew your thinking by letting God’s truth reshape how you see the world and yourself (Romans 12:2).
– Capture and challenge every thought that contradicts God’s wisdom (2 Corinthians 10:5).
– Focus your attention on what is pure, true, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).
This kind of love is both defensive and proactive…it guards against deception and feeds on truth. It is a daily discipline that leads to discernment, clarity, and peace.
Let’s move on to what it means to love God with all your soul and strength.
3) Love God with All Your Soul
The word soul (nephesh) refers to the entire life of a person—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life. Your soul is who you really are—your identity, your will, your personality. It’s the deepest part of you. Your soul represents your inner being—your emotions, will, and identity.
Psalm 103:1
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
This is a wholehearted call to worship. It is not simply about external praise, but an inward devotion. “All that is within me” represents a complete yielding of the soul. It aligns with the idea that the soul is the seat of identity and emotion…David is urging every fiber of his being to honor God, suggesting a life entirely oriented toward Him.
Loving God with your soul means praising Him from the deepest parts of your being, not just with words but with your will, emotions, and spirit fully aligned to glorify Him.
Luke 9:24
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
Jesus calls for giving up self-preservation and personal ambition to follow Him. This shows that the soul must not cling to its own story but must submit to God’s larger plan.
Loving God with your soul involves embracing self-denial and discovering true life by surrendering your personal dreams, comfort, and safety to Christ. It’s the paradox of losing to gain, dying to self to truly live. It’s interesting because it offers us real life, unlike the life the world has planned for us….a perfect life created by God for us!
1 Peter 2:11 (NASB)
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
Peter discusses the conflict between spiritual identity and worldly desire. The soul is not neutral; it is under attack. Therefore, loving God with your soul also means protecting it by resisting lusts that distract you from His will.
Loving God with your soul involves a vigilant, counter-cultural lifestyle. It is an active decision to pursue holiness and reject impulses that threaten your spiritual health.
Loving God with your soul means submitting your entire life to Him—your identity, your choices, and your future. It involves allowing Him to be the focus of your life story. It’s stating, “God, I’m Yours….no matter what.”
Perhaps the best way to understand it is that your soul is both who you are and what you are. If someone were to ask you who you are, you might give them your name. But that’s not very descriptive. If I wanted to be more specific, I might say, “I’m a father, a husband, a pastor, a teacher. Most importantly, I’m a follower of Jesus.” Loving God with all your soul means allowing God to define who you are and what you are.
4. Love God with All Your Strength
This is about loving God through your deeds, service, and the use of your physical resources. This part is about what you do. It’s your energy, your time, your abilities—how you show your love through action.
Strength here has nothing to do with the amount of weight you can bench press. It signifies your energy output—your work, your job, whatever it is that you put effort into. Paul eloquently explained what it means to love God with all your strength when he said…..
Colossians 3:23,24
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Every task—whether big or small—is an opportunity to serve Christ. Your motivation in work is not to please people, but to honor God.
Loving God with your strength means giving your best effort in all areas of life—not just in church or ministry, but also in your job, family, and daily responsibilities. When done with the Lord in mind, even mundane tasks become holy acts of worship.
Ask yourself? Am I putting full effort into my responsibilities with a heart that honors God?
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Paul calls believers to unwavering dedication in serving God. Even when results aren’t visible, the effort is never wasted in God’s eyes.
Loving God with your strength means being resilient and consistent, even when you’re tired or discouraged.It’s about abounding, going beyond what’s expected—not for recognition, but because of love. Your physical and emotional investment in God’s work reflects your devotion.
Ask yourself, do I stay faithful in serving God even when I don’t see immediate results?
James 2:17
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Genuine faith naturally expresses itself in action. Faith that never translates into concrete behavior is incomplete.
Loving God with your strength means putting your faith into action. It’s not just about believing or feeling something….it’s about doing something. Whether it’s serving others, giving generously, standing up for truth, or helping those in need, your love becomes visible through your actions.
Ask yourself, is my faith visible through what I actually do, or is it just something I say?
True love shows itself through effort. Whether serving the church, your family, or those in need, your strength should be dedicated to God’s glory. Whether you’re working, volunteering, parenting, or helping a neighbor—do it with God in mind. Even the smallest actions matter when driven by love.
I know much of this goes against the grain of our culture, but is our culture satisfied? Do they understand what real love means? Does the culture understand the feeling of true success?
Does the culture provide real peace or freedom?
If you are honest with yourself; you will have answered, “No” to all those questions!
I saw a sign once that said
“No Jesus, No Peace”
“Know Jesus, Know Peace”
Here are some questions for you today
You were designed by God to be His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10)
Do you want to fulfill your purpose as His masterpiece? If so you must love him and as the wedding vows say sometimes, “Forsaking all others”
“God, I’m Yours….no matter what.”
Let everything you do be done with God in mind!
If you do, I guarantee you real love, real peace, real fulfillment, real success, real freedom, real satisfaction and so much more.