Love the Lord With All Your Heart
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
I’ve always enjoyed the "word-on-the-street” social experiments, where different people on the streets are asked a variety of questions ranging from simple fact-based questions to those regarding life’s deepest concerns. I love the sincere and unscripted responses, which serve as a great commentary on the culture and help us engage in a thoughtful hermeneutic (interpretation) of the times.
One such question is, “What is the heart?” Of course, this question receives concrete, scientific, and physiological answers, as well as expressing abstract, spiritual, and philosophical beliefs.
How would you answer that question? What would you say?
If you’re struggling to get your thoughts together in a cohesive manner, you’re not alone.
If you’re finding it difficult to find the right words to express what’s coming to mind, you’re not alone.
Why Is Defining The Heart So Confusing?
I agree that there is some difficulty in defining such an abstract concept without reference to concrete actions or expressions.
What makes the effort of defining the heart even more difficult, in the spiritual or religious sense, is the modern notion that the heart can be an ever-evolving psychological and spiritual phenomenon dependent on the times and its spiritual state.
(Uhhh … What? … Exactly …)
The Lord calls us to clarity, and we must not remain in the fog regarding matters of the heart. Understanding the heart and its implications bears a glorious weight, and we must grow in our appreciation for such complex matters.
Why Is Defining The Heart Important?
If we, as God’s children, fall prey to this modern practice of deconstructing meaning, shipwreck lies ahead.
Some immediate consequences come to my mind if we succumb to confusing definitions, inconsistent concepts, and meaningless platitudes regarding the heart:
We will find ourselves limited in our understanding of what it means to engage our hearts in loving God and others, resulting in increasing self-deception regarding our faith and faithfulness;
We will find ourselves living under the crushing weight of the stronghold of disobedience, falling prey to the whims and allurements of seductive teachings and practices;
We will find ourselves taken by the whirlwind of emotional confusion, falling into the clasp of spiritual depression and a downcast spirit;
We will find ourselves ill-equipped to lead our families and disciples into greater obedience, sacrificing our loved ones at the altars of earthly concerns and temptations;
And we will be ignorant regarding the assurances and promises of God revealed in Scripture, missing out on the power of living hope and the present power of the resurrection of our Risen Lord.
Without a clear understanding of the heart, it will be nearly impossible to fully grasp the sense of Biblical knowledge, wisdom, assurance, confidence, and even love - we miss out on living eternal life to the full.
Let’s reason together to see if we can remove some of the fog, remove some of the ambiguity, and gain clarity regarding the Biblical definition and understanding of “the heart”.
What the Heart Is Not.
Many times being treated synonymously with love, the heart is taken to mean feelings of affection, feelings of attraction, feelings of understanding. For the majority of those asked, the heart remains in the realm of emotion, tender feelings, and sentiment.
There’s another category of the heart that humanistic psychology addresses, which can cause greater confusion if not precisely discerned. According to such views, the heart is abstractly the potential for humans to develop and evolve from their basic needs to self-actualization - the linear growth of an individual. It is then the role of the heart to sense this growth and finally find personal fulfillment.
You must fight against the urge of interpreting the "heart" merely as emotional sentiment. or even this abstract, never-ending journey of self-fulfillment.
Be cautious of your tendencies to infuse Scripture with the preconceived notions of the warm-and-fuzzies, the fluttering butterflies of emotional mush, the self-glorified quest of personal achievement.
What the Heart Is.
Scripture uses “heart” in a more comprehensive manner. While being located in the center of the body, the heart refers to the seat of man itself, the life of the inner person, and is summed up as “that which makes us ... us”. A preferred understanding of this term is the mind along with its capacities. This would include but not limited to your emotions; the heart includes your will, volition, desires, thoughts, reasonings, understanding, calculations, decisions, etc.
I believe it’s quite accurate to associate the heart with one’s central wisdom found within as opposed to mere intellectual knowledge gained through gathering information.
The heart relates to the non-material aspects of the person, with which you are to love the Lord your God.
What Does It Mean to Love the Lord With All My Heart?
It's essential to your relationship with God to break down the various aspects of the heart into bite-sized specifics. For example,
Love God with all your will and volition.
Love God with all your desires and aims.
Love God with all your thoughts and reasoning.
Love God with all your calculations and formulation.
Love God with all your thinking, knowledge, and wisdom.
Love God with all your emotions and feelings.
You are to love God with the full capacities of the mind. These competencies become vital instruments used to express loving affection and the treasuring of God. Here's another way to think about this:
Respond to God's loving graciousness by treasuring Him with all your will and volition.
Respond to God's loving graciousness by treasuring Him with all your desires and aims.
Respond to God's loving graciousness by treasuring Him with all your thoughts and reasoning.
Respond to God's loving graciousness by treasuring Him with all your calculations and formulations.
Respond to God's loving graciousness by treasuring Him with all your thinking, knowledge, and wisdom.
Respond to God's loving graciousness by treasuring Him with all your emotions and feelings.
Harness these potentials, to their fullest extents, toward Christ's eternal love and grace. Function from the mind of Christ, where the Spirit illuminates the deep things of God. Govern your mind with the knowledge and grace of Christ in and through His Word.
Scripture to Help Cultivate and Focus Your Heart
Psalm 31:23 “Love the Lord, all His faithful ones. The Lord protects the loyal, but fully repays the arrogant.“
Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.“
Mathew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.“
Philippians 3:8 “More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ“
Philippians 4:8-9 “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy — dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.“
2 Thessalonians 3:5 “May the Lord direct your hearts to God’s love and Christ’s endurance.“
1 John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.“
Thank you for taking the time to reflect with me, and I pray that this post strengthens your heart in the Lord.
Let’s build each other up. Share in the comments below some of the effective practices you have implemented in your busy schedule or other passages of Scripture to help you remain in His Word and prayer and to be more mindful of your life being more heavenward.
Let me know if you have any questions. I would love to dialog further about all things pertaining to life and godliness. Spread the Word.
Linus Nguyen is the founder of Of The Way Ministries and serves as lead pastor of Emmanuel Bible Fellowship (Houston, Texas). He has taught in, developed curriculum for, and written on the subjects of Biblical Studies, Theology, Discipleship, Spiritual Formation, Philosophy of Religion, Missions, Humanities, Rhetoric, and Communications at Secondary, Undergraduate, and Postgraduate levels. // Follow him on Podcast, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook.