Today, we are going to delve into what God’s love is all about. In the article “Love One Another”, you can explore what it truly means to love one another. In the Bible, Jesus says this is the greatest commandment: love God with your heart, mind, soul and strength. The Bible also says to worship God in spirit and truth.
What Is Our Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength?
The soul is all of your inner being which includes heart, mind, emotions, and will. Your soul is sinful but is being transformed. In biblical Hebrew, the heart is where you make choices motivated by your desires. The heart can also mean that part of you where your emotions and desires dwell. So in this case, your heart is part of your mind, and your mind is part of your soul.
Your strength represents your body which is currently sinful but will be made holy instantly at resurrection. So the Bible says to love God with all yourself which is sinful. It is putting your sinful self or flesh under control of your spirit which is holy and directly connected to the Holy Spirit.
Doing this first is required to love God spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally, with no selfishness. Your intimacy with your spouse in marriage is also in ways of spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Four Ways to Love God
Spiritually
– God is spirit, so you connect to and relate to Him personally in spirit. Your spirit is holy and is fully connected to the Holy Spirit.
– Pray and worship in your spirit and pray unceasingly. Live in the spirit every day, all day.
– Learn the wisdom of God, through the Holy Spirit and the mind of Christ.
– Be controlled by and live in the spirit not in the flesh.
– Pray in the spirit to have opportunities to serve God.
– Begin prayers with adoration, confession, and thanksgiving. Listen to God. Stay in this mode until you feel connected spiritually. Meditate on Bible verses.
Mentally
– Fill your mind with the things of God. Gain knowledge of God.
– Plan and make the decision to pray, read and study the Bible, and be available to God for service.
– Keep your mind pure.
– Be alert and focused.
Emotionally
– Replace bad emotions with good emotions. The good spiritual fruits from the Holy Spirit and the virtues from Jesus is the way of the spirit, and the opposite is the way of the flesh/Satan’s way. Be careful not to pervert the good fruits and virtues by introducing selfishness.
– Confess your weaknesses and fears to God. Let God’s strength become perfect in your weaknesses.
– Worship and feel God’s presence.
– Pray to the Holy Spirit for His fruits to be yours and pray to Jesus for His virtues to be yours.
Physically
– Read the Word and obey God.
– Daily offer your sinful self as a living sacrifice – body, soul including mind and emotions, and weaknesses.
– Give God control and keep yourself physically pure.
– Go, staying prayerful when away from home. Pray for opportunities to serve God. Do what you learn from God.
Fruit and Virtues
The good fruit and virtues that we can possess, along with their opposites and perversions, as found in The Mind of Christ by TW Hunt and Claude King are contained in the following list. Notice where you stand in each category.
– purity (opposite lust) (perversion puritanical)
– peaceful (opposite fussy) (perversion compromise)
– gentle (opposite harsh) (perversion negligence)
– approachable (opposite unapproachable) (perversion is yes person)
– fruitful (opposite fruitless) (perversion fruit-obsessed)
– merciful (opposite merciless) (perversion indulgent/lenient)
– steadfast/enduring (opposite wavering) (perversion inflexible)
– honest (opposite lying) (perversion brutal/lack of love)
– love (opposite hate) (perversion possessive/manipulative)
– joy (opposite sadness) (perversion hysteria)
– peace (opposite rage) (perversion lukewarm/indifferent)
– patient (opposite impatience) (perversion permissive)
– good (opposite unwholesome/immoral) (perversion self-righteous)
– faithful/reliable (opposite faithless/inconsistent) (perversion legalism/over commit)
– meekness/humble (opposite arrogance/pride) (perversion weakness/cowardly)
– temperance/self-control (opposite undisciplined/lazy) (perversion self-effort)
Record Where You Are
It is important to know where you are in regards to loving God. Record at the end of each day how well you loved God in each of the 4 ways: spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. If any areas are low, try to make up for it the next day. Since you know where you are, you can work to improve. The goal is to try and keep all 4 ways fairly equal.
As we conclude, remember that loving God encompasses every part of our being—spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical. This holistic love requires dedication and daily reflection. By continually assessing and striving to improve in each of these areas, we align ourselves more closely with God’s will, transforming our lives into a living testament of His love. Let us commit to this journey, embracing the transformative power of loving God with our entire heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Please watch the Great News video on this page to find out how you can be transformed by Jesus Christ today!