Loving God Big Sample

Loving God with All Your Soul

When asked what was the greatest commandment, Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'." Matt 22:37-39 NIV

What is your soul? After doing a lot (and I mean a lot) of reading to see what the Bible says about the soul and what different theologians have to say about the topic, this is the conclusion I’ve come to: our soul is our individuality, the essence of who we are. Our soul holds our passions, hunger, perceptions, and consciousness. Here’s how I know that there is a difference between our soul and spirit. In Matthew 26:38 NIV Jesus said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” Then in verse 42, he asks, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." Jesus’s soul was overwhelmed but His spirit was willing.

Matthew 5:6 NIV says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”. God wants nothing more than to fill us. Being filled with Him is how we can navigate this journey called life. 

But what does it look like to hunger and thirst after God? Think about when you are physically starving. What do you do? You go to your kitchen and open the refrigerator door and every cabinet door looking for something to fill your stomach so you are no longer hungry. You dig and dig until you find something to eat. You cook it, bake it, slice and dice it. Then you serve it up thinking, "This will hit the spot". You gobble it down. Then you might sigh and think, “Man, I feel better”. 

This is what it looks like to go after God with all your soul. You keep digging to find out all you can about this God you serve. You find out what He says about you. And you find out what it means to walk in upright standing with God. 

I said this yesterday but it’s so important: this walk with God is not about checking the boxes. It’s about a relationship with someone who loves you—Someone who gave his son’s life for your sin. 

To get more out of today’s devotional ask yourself this question: in my life what does it look like to love God with all my soul?