Love with All

What prompted me to write this post? The fact that so many of us love the verse but so few of us understand what it really means or apply it to our lives.

So, first, let's read the verse:

Deut. 6:5 

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

The commandment is repeated by Christ:

Luke 10:27

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.



Wonderful!

And, too many times, we stop there. Today we're going further.

What it means:

Both the Hebrew and Greek words for love in these verses mean "love." 1 Corinthians 13 gives us a list of characteristics of love; Galatians 5 says love is a fruit of the Spirit; there are many passages of the Bible that talk about love. Here we see love in a command: to love with all our hearts, souls, might, and minds.


Love with all your heart.

The Hebrew word for "heart" in Deut. means "courage, mind, understanding." The Greek means "thoughts, mind, middle."

Love, with all your courage. {Love is courageous.}
Love, with all your mind. {Thoughts should be loving.}
Love, with all your understanding. {Understand that since God loves us, we are to love others.}
Love deeply. {You know the part that aches when your heart is broken? That's the part we are to love with.}


Love with all your soul.

The Hebrew word for "soul" in Deut. means "life, vitality, desire, content, self." The Greek means "spirit, vitality."

Love, with the all the life that God has given you.
Love, with all the vitality you can muster.
Love. It should be what you desire.
Love; this should satisfy you.
Love, with all yourself.


Love with all your might.

The Hebrew word for "might" in Deut. means "vehemence, intensity, diligence, exceed{ingly}, far, fast, good, great, loud, utterly, very." The Greek word for "strength" means "forcefulness, ability, might, power, strength, with much work."

Love vehemently.
Love intensely.
Love diligently.
Love exceedingly.
Love far.
Love immediately.
Love greatly.
Love utterly.
Love with all your force.
Love with all your ability.
Love with all your might.
Love with all your power.
Love with all your strength.
Love, with work.


Love with all your mind.

The Greek word for "mind" means "deep thought, exercise of the mind, imagination, understanding."

Love, taking thought for whom and why you are loving.
Love, imagining the other person's situation.
Love, understanding that since God loves us, we are to love others.


And the verse doesn't end there. Jesus goes on to say:

"...and love thy neighbor as thyself."

LOVE.