Heart, Soul, Mind

Matthew 22: 36 – 40

A group of skeptics asked Jesus a question hoping to impel Him on the horns of a dilemma.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Gotcha!

They had 631 commandments, 248 positive and 365 negative.

Schools of thought developed around most of the major ones and groups advocating their favorite as the greatest. It appeared that if Christ said any one of the laws was the greatest, advocates of all others would turn on Him.

Jesus reached back into the Scripture and quoted: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) That doesn’t leave out anything. There is no reserve in love.

Three facets of our nature are to be involved in loving the Lord.

First, is our heart, “kardia”  is the word used. It is a reference to our entire inner nature. It is a term for our personality. Whole-hearted love is the meaning.

It is a reference to being enthusiastic about our love for the Lord. The measure of loving the Lord is to love Him without measure.

The next is our soul (psyche), a reference to the seat of our will. It means to willfully determine to love the Lord. It is a reference to being enthusiastic about our love for the Lord. The measure of loving the Lord is to love Him without measure. Agape love is a conscious and deliberate act of the will.

                It means to seek God for His own sake, 

                        to have pleasure in Him, and 

                                to strive impulsively after Him.

Finally, is the mind (dianoia) which relates to our intellect. Love for the Lord is to be knowledgeable. That is what made the difference in the lives of the disciples. Albert Sweitzer was asked, “What is wrong with man today?” He replied, “He simply does not think.”

A classic example of a loving response to hate and brute force is seen in Coventry, England. On the night of November 14, 1940, nearly 500 German bombers attacked the English city of Coventry. Over 600 tons of explosives and thousands of incendiary bombs were dropped. 700,000 homes were destroyed and 400 people killed.

Amid the rubble stood the remains of the formerly beloved beautiful 14th Century Coventry Cathedral.

In love, the people of the city have now built a beautiful modern cathedral beside the ruins of the old one. The old walls of the ancient gothic cathedral that still stand are architecturally connected to the new modern structure. There is a large charred wooden cross that stands on the soot blackened stone where the altar once was located. The cross is made of charred beams of the old cathedral. On a table is another smaller cross. It was formed by two twisted spikes used by medieval craftsmen to construct the roof. The spikes had fallen forming a cross.

Since that night an inscription has been carved in the wall reading: “Father, forgive….”      That is what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. 

Bernard of Clairvaux, a 12th Century preacher, asked a question and answered it Himself. His question: “Why should we love God?”

His answer: “Because He is God.”