Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
We learned last time that loving God with all our heart means having that part of our lives that no one sees, fully committed to Him. Church rules can demand outward conformity, but what is in our hearts will eventually spill out into our lives in one form or another. This week, we will focus on at what it means to love God with all our soul.
Vine's Expository Dictionary emphasizes that the word soul in this verse has to do with "the seat of our will and purpose". The same Greek word for soul is used in Acts 4:32. "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul:" They had the same will and purpose in common.
When we love God with all our soul, we are to have the same will and purpose in mind that God has. What is His will and purpose for us? Some scriptures that speak to this are:
1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, 7 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Peter 2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
God's will and purpose for us is that we be sanctified, holy, thankful in all things, well doing, and conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. It is interesting to note that all of these things spring from a heart that has been changed by God and loves Him wholly. When we love God with our whole heart and soul, we will want his will and purpose for our lives.
In my next devotion in this series, we will explore what it means to love God with all our mind and how it will help us to love God with all our heart and soul more.
Dear Father, Help us to have Your will and purpose foremost in our hearts, that we might live in a way that is pleasing to You and a light to the world around us. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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