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NASB | Mark 12:30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Mark 12:30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL (life), AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND (thought, understanding), AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' [Deut 6:4, 5] |
Bible Question: Jesus Christ asked us to serve Him with our full heart, mind, soul and strength. What is the real difference between these four and how we have to serve and worship Him with these four? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Vijay Joseph! While no one is sure exactly what each word means, there is a reasonable clarity to the meaning of the verse. The first thing to note is that the Greek text says that we are love God out of the whole, and then lists four words from which this love is too spring. 1) Heart: This word in the New Testament ususally refers to two concepts. a) The seat of our passions or desires (cf. Acts 2:26; Jn. 16:6; 2 Cor. 7:3; Rom. 10:1; 1:24). b) The seat of reason or thought (cf. Mt. 7:21; Jn. 12:40; Acts 8:22; Mk. 11:23; Rev. 18:7; Rom. 1:21.) 2) Soul: This word seems to focus primarily on the life force of a person (Acts 20:10, 27:22, 27:10, and Mt. 6:25.) 3) Mind: seems to refer to understanding or thought (cf. Mk. 12:30; Heb. 8:10; 10:16; an arrogant disposition in Lk. 1:51.) 4) Strength: Seems to refer to personal ability. To sum up, one source that I counsulted said that these should not necessarily been taken as four seperate aspects of human nature, but rather as a description of the totality of our human nature or personality. Thus, the command to the love the Lord would be qualified with the thought that this love should spring from and include every bit of who and what we are. This is wonderful advice for many Christians for whom their Christian walk includes only Sunday. The kind of love that we all should have is comprehensive and total. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |