How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. That is an oft quoted first line of a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning in Sonnet 43. Even if you’re not into poetry or literature, you might want to take a moment to click on the link and read this famous poem. I don’t know if Elizabeth was inspired by the Word of God when writing, but Mark 12:30 tells us the ways we are to love God.
Love God with all your heart. In this verse ALL is the key word to love as well as to peace. Loving anyone requires everything. If it is divided or broken, it is not ALL. Yes, we still love other people and need to love them wholeheartedly, too. What this means is that when we are saying or showing that we love God, we are loving Him only, not another idol or god of our own making. When a couple truly loves each other, there is no other lover. It’s just the two of them. So it should be with God.
Love God with all your soul. One definition on the internet says your soul is the seat of your memory, feelings, imagination, convictions, desires, and affections. These are all areas that can be infiltrated with good or bad. If we love God with all our soul, then these areas of our life will be controlled by Him and leave little room for Satan to put his two cents in and draw us away.
Love God with all your mind. This one is kind of obvious but yet it isn’t. It really goes along with our soul, but our mind needs to be harnessed by the Spirit of God so what we think in our mind is purified before it gets to the soul. If my mind is thinking about what I just heard, saw, or read, that’s what’s going to seep into my soul. When the Holy Spirit guards my mind, if those thoughts are sinful, he puts a stop to them before they get to my soul. We can’t love God with sinful thoughts in our mind.
Love God with all your strength. Some days I feel like I could conquer anything and other days I don’t have the strength to bend over and pick up something off the floor. Whether you’re weak or ill, or as “strong as an ox”, the amount of strength you have is all that God requires. He doesn’t want us to just give Him what strength is left at the end of a busy tiring day. He wants all the strength we have from morning to night.
Freely… Elizabeth also states that she loved freely. God wants us to love Him that way, too. He doesn’t make us but asks that we give our love freely with no strings attached.
Purely… Elizabeth says she loves purely as well. There’s no other way to love God or anyone except purely which goes back to loving with our whole soul. If you give any less, then it’s not ALL.
Better after death… We love God and others now, but our love will be enhanced and magnified when we see Him face to face after death or when He comes again.
How do you love? Count the ways and see if they need improvement. More love thoughts on the way…