All of You: Learning to Love God With Your Whole SelfSample

Which part of the great commandment is most difficult for you? Loving God with your heart? Soul? Mind? Strength?

An often overlooked aspect involves loving God with your strength. Those who feel weak may struggle in this area. An even greater struggle may occur for those who hate their body. After all, it's tough to love God with your body when you don't see your body the way God does.

Many commentators have debated the meaning of the word "strength." The Greek word has a wide range of meanings, which many translators render as strength. That range includes our will, might, or force. One way to summarize them is the will of our bodies. Having already included our hearts, souls, and minds, I think it's important to consider how we include our bodies in loving God, especially as so many struggle with their bodies today.

Consider these five things that the Bible teaches us about our bodies.

First, according to Genesis 1:28, your body is made in God's image. Sin certainly impacted our bodies through Adam's fall, but that impact does not undo what God does when He makes us in His image.

Second, your body is something God was intimately involved in creating. In Psalm 139, David writes that God's works are wonderful - we are God's handiwork. In the words of author Jess Connolly, "your body is a good body."

Third, your body is similar to the body Jesus inhabited. If the body was worthless, then why would Jesus have chosen to become flesh, as John 1:14 tells us? It was Jesus' body that was beaten, crucified, and resurrected for your salvation.

Fourth, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul asks the believers, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" We often treat our church buildings with more honor and care than our bodies, where God's spirit dwells. How much more valuable are our bodies than our buildings?

Fifth, according to Ephesians 2:10, you are God's masterpiece. Paul used the word "poema" to describe the people who Jesus' death saved by grace. The word poema means "the crowning achievement of an artist." God's best piece of creation is not the Grand Canyon, Victoria Falls, or the Great Barrier Reef. God's masterpiece is you!

Throughout the Bible, we see people invited to serve God out of what looks like a weakness but is a strength. Moses was sent to speak on behalf of the people despite having a stutter. Gideon was sent to face a massive army in battle despite being a fearful person. Jonah was sent to preach salvation to a group of people he was prejudiced against.

If it's hard to love God with all you are—strength, soul, mind, and heart—consider praying, "God, how do You see all of me differently than I do? I want to love You with all of me, but that's hard if I don't see myself as You do."

While the Great Commandment seems simple—love God with your whole self - I'm sure you've realized through this plan that it is far from easy. I am praying for you today to invite God into your struggle and let Him teach you how to hold nothing back in your growing relationship with Him.

Thank you so much for letting me encourage you this week! Click here for more encouragement through my Loving God Action Plan, which includes resources to help you love God with the parts of yourself that you love and the parts you don't yet!