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“HEAR O Israel, the LORD is our God, the Lord is one, and as for you, you shall LOVE the Lord your God with all of your HEART, with all of your SOUL, and with all of your STRENGTH.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5

“With all your soul”

“LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart [and] all your soul” from Matthew 22:37 (quoting Deuteronomy 6) actually refers to two specific aspects of the human: the INTANGIBLE and the TANGIBLE.

The “soul” is the intangible and the eternal. The english word “soul” is translated to the Hebrew word “nephesh”. But in Hebrew the “nephesh” was a tangible aspect of life.

The Hebrew word for soul is “Nephesh”

The literal translation of “nephesh” from Hebrew is “throat”. As in, the part which a being life passes into and out of for life.

However, the word is used in place of ‘people’. Meaning that, in the Bible, people don’t have a “nephesh”, they are a “nephesh” a living, breathing physical being. While the word “nephesh” is translated into ‘soul’, the Hebrew word really means the whole of a human.

An expert of the law tested Jesus

The Scribe asked Jesus “which is the greatest commandment” in gratitude. By referencing Deuteronomy 6, Jesus defined Christianity simply:

  • We must love God so that it dominates our emotions, our thoughts, and our actions
  • Love God first and man second as made in the image of Him

Loving others

“And the second is like this: ‘LOVE your neighbour as yourself’” Matthew 22:39.

In order to love our neighbours properly, we must first understand that our self-love must be a godly love and not a selfish one.

Selfish love revolves around the self and places its needs first. It insisists on its own decisions, demands and revels in recognition, shows conceit, and ignores others.

Godly love stirs a strong self-image with confidence and assurance. It comes from knowing 3 things...

  1. That you are a creation of God
  2. That you are the object of God's love
  3. That you will inherit God's gifts
Challenge:

As his eternal LOVE fuels you, think about everyone you know and everyone in this world. In those moments when loving is difficult, remember the three truths about godly love.

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

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