What Does It Mean to Love God with Our Whole Being? Part 2

If you’re like me you want to love God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mk 12:30). But what does that mean?

It can be quite complicated because we humans have many different aspects to our makeup which are all inter-related. I found it helpful to try and look at them individually. In that way, we’ll be better able to…

Love God with our whole being

Last time I covered mind and heart. Now I’ll attempt to discuss what it means to love God with the physical and non-physical aspects of our makeup.

PHYSICAL BODY

We are loving God with our physical bodies when we:

• Get enough rest, eat healthy, and exercise in order to serve God better—not just to feel and look good
• Live a balanced life of work and relaxation
• Use our 5 senses in a God-honoring way. For example:
  ~Watch, listen to, and smell only wholesome things
  ~Touch people appropriately
• We take action in obeying God. For example:
  ~Take care of our families and other God-given responsibilities
  ~Follow a prompting to do an act of kindness like making a meal or driving someone to the doctor’s office.
• Use our mouth to speak truth to others
• Use our material possessions for God’s glory (although this is not an actual part of our makeup, I just had to include it here! 🙂 )

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:17)

NON-PHYSICAL
(Will, personality, temperament, abilities, conscience, spirit)

We are loving God with our will when we:

• Make right choices
• Put in the effort to do the hard things (otherwise known as discipline)
• Develop good habits—spiritual and non-spiritual—reading God’s word, being on time, etc.
• Break bad habits
• Determine to do God’s will no matter what—“Not my will but Your will be done” mentality
• Persevere and endure hardship; refuse to give up
• Resist temptation; fight with every ounce of our being not to give in

We are loving God with our temperament, personality, and abilities (including our spiritual gifts) when we:

• Use our personality in our service to God. For example: if an extrovert, then we serve in a ministry involving people; if an introvert then we serve more behind the scenes
• Serve in the area of our giftedness
• Use our temperament in a God-honoring way. For example:
  ~If we tend to be laid-back, we don’t let ourselves be lazy
  ~If we are a doer, we try to do a task in His strength not our own
  ~If we are a good organizer, we use that gift to help others instead of criticizing them.
  ~If we tend to be a perfectionist, we strive for excellence instead.

We are loving God with our conscience when we:

• Are sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s conviction when we stray from His ways
• Repent quickly

We are loving God with our spirit and the rest of that immaterial part of us when we:

• Avail ourselves of Christ’s power within us for His glory

…struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.  (Col 1:29)

• Allow the character and traits of Christ to manifest itself through us
• Let Christ be the Source of everything

~~~~~

So my friends, I hope this exercise has increased  your understanding of what it means to love God with your whole being. I know I have fallen way short in adequately discussing such an esoteric subject. But I pray that, at the very least, I have stimulated your thinking. I will entrust the Holy Spirit to do the rest, because spiritual truths can only be spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:10-16). 

For me, my eyes have been opened up afresh as to how much I fall short in loving God with all of who I am. Alleluia! He loves you and me—shortcomings and all—with all of His heart and soul (Jer 32:41)! Which just makes me love Him all the more!

So until next time…

[I am] praying…that you will be filled with his mighty, glorious strength so that you can keep going no matter what happens—always full of the joy of the Lord (Col 1:11 TLB)

Relevant Resources

An Exercise to Help You Exercise Your Will Muscle

7 Tips to Help You Break that Sinful cycle

12 Ways to Increase Your Desire to STOP Sinning

 

Except where indicated all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV. ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

(TLB) The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.