The rugged portion of coastline in northwest Italy known as Cinque Terre is not the easiest to reach, but it is certainly easy to love. The Cinque Terre (meaning five lands) region includes five remote villages which are terraced into the steep landscape and cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Unreachable by car, residents and visitors rely on trains, boats, and paths to travel between the villages and to the larger city of La Spezia.
Last spring, when my husband, son, and I visited the five villages, we made use of all the methods of transportation available to us. While the trains and boats offered speed and greater comfort, the walking paths provided up-close views of the breathtaking scenery.
One afternoon, on a hot and hilly hike between the villages of Monterosso and Vernazza, we met a farmer selling lemonade. I wish I had a picture of him to share with you. Barely fitting inside the confines of his tiny, vine-covered shack, he towered over a sticky table squeezing lemons and making lemonade.
I have purchased lemonade from many lemonade stands in my life, and frankly, most are not that memorable. But, the setting, the freshness, and the seller at this stand…well, I think you’ll agree, they were just meant to be remembered.
With little to no machinery and the threat of falling rock or mudslides, the farmer and his crew diligently work to grow lemons on the steeply terraced farm we crossed over. I thought about our hike and the farmer this week when I read this Scripture:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 NIV
In spite of challenging weather and working conditions, the Cinque Terre farmer persists in tending to his crop–to giving it his all. Like the farmer, we face difficulties as we grow into a completely loving relationship with God. In a similar way, we are called to give God our all. Jesus says this is the most important commandment–to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Do I love God in such an all-encompassing way? How can I do better? What does it mean to love with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength? Here are some thoughts so far:
Loving God with All Your Heart
Loving God with all your heart means giving him your greatest attention, devotion, and affection. He wants us to treasure him above all earthly relationships, longings, and belongings. He wants to be known by us. Some questions we can ask include:
- What is most important in my life? Do I love, seek, or crave more of it than I do of God?
- Do I set aside time in the day for God or do I squeeze time with him in when it’s most convenient?
- How well do I know God’s story?
- Am I praying often and with confidence? Do I trust God and believe he works for my good?
- Do I thank God for the day and the blessings I find?
- Am I looking for ways to pay attention, to be still, and to listen to what he might say?
Taking a closer look at our connection with God helps us find ways to strengthen our relationship with him. When God becomes the first priority of the heart we start seeing and coping with things differently. Loving God wholeheartedly points us to wisdom, peace, hope, and joy in a world which often points to the opposite.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 NIV
Loving God with All Your Soul
God made each one of our souls unique. He set us apart to contribute to the lives of others in ways no one else can. Loving God with all your soul means evaluating yourself and working to be everything God calls you to be. Some questions we can ask include:
- What characteristics, gifts, and talents set me apart?
- How is God leading me to use my uniqueness to serve him and to draw others closer to him?
- Am I using my resources like time, money, talent, and energy wisely and for his good purposes? What changes can I make?
- Do I use my uniqueness to make God more well-known or myself?
- How does my story fit into God’s story? Do I represent Christ with my life?
These are tough questions. Sometimes, we are too close to the subject matter (meaning ourselves) to see the answers clearly. Friends, trusted advisors, counselors, and assessments can help. And, prayers for guidance in finding the answers is always a good idea. If we keep in mind God’s timing and ways are higher than our own, then we learn to wait more expectantly and to notice what he reveals. Understanding ourselves and our own special qualities, through the help of others and the Holy Spirit, teaches us how to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 NLT
Loving God with All Your Mind
How blessed we are that God gave us curious minds to seek him through learning. Because his Word is “alive and active” we will always uncover new insights from it. God delights in our exploration of faith. He uses it to deepen his relationship with us. Loving God with all your mind means seeking to know him better through the resources he provides and your own life experiences. Some questions we can ask include:
- Am I truly an eager student in God’s classroom?
- Do I seek wisdom from him through prayer, reflection, the Bible, and other trusted sources?
- Am I alert and watchful for the ways he is working in my life?
- How do I apply what I am learning from him?
Loving with the mind can feel like a more natural way to love God because we humans really like figuring things out. But, it sure is easy to get frustrated when we have to wait or do not get the answers we were looking for. Loving God with all our minds teaches us persistence and patience. It also reminds us that we do not have all the answers, and we are not in control. Learning about God’s character and growing in his wisdom builds confidence in our faith and helps us apply it.
Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you. Proverbs 4:6 NLT
Loving God with All Your Strength
Life is hard. Full of challenges, hardships, sorrows, and busyness. Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to fix all of our concerns that we forget to trust God. Battling worries and fears can also make us feel too weak to turn to God. In difficult times, loving God really does take ALL our strength. Loving God with all your strength means holding onto the hope God provides no matter how hard things get. Some questions we can ask include:
- Do I actively search for the good God is working on my behalf?
- Do I look back and thank God for the times he has helped me in the past? Did I learn anything that can help me now?
- Am I working to identify and change anything that stands in the way of a closer relationship with God?
- Is my trust in God growing and helping me through my trouble one day at a time, one moment at a time?
- How is God improving my peace and rest through faith?
Finding the strength to love God is difficult at times. We get tired of trouble and fighting long battles. Following him makes us weary when we have doubts or others tear us down. But, we know bettering ourselves through him will always require changes in the way we live, work, think, speak, or act. Boldly trusting God to help us one day at a time with changes and in our trouble teaches us how to love him courageously.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 NIV
Loving God with All You’ve Got
Each day, by God’s grace, we are given another chance to look for him, to know him better, and to love him more. As a work in progress myself, I am sure grateful for this opportunity. I don’t think God minds my questions about him or about how well I love him. Questions are part of my search, and he uses them to help me find him.
What questions do you ask yourself and God to grow in your faith? What are some ways you show how much you love him?
Learning to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is not something that should feel like a requirement. As faith grows, our love for God will flow naturally and abundantly, not out of obligation, but out of a desire to express who God is to us. We can’t will it to happen, and we can’t take all the credit. God works within us to change us as we seek him, trust him, and love him more and more.
Like the lemon farmer on the steep hillside caring for his crop, we make a choice to diligently work the land within us. We tend to our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. We love God with all we’ve got, remembering ultimately, our harvest comes from him. Something tells me he helps make some very fine cups of lemonade.
Press on in faith, my friends! ~Jamie
Related Posts:
Living Like a Superhero
Getting to Know God Better
Embracing God’s Plan
Idolatry: Worshipping Family instead of God
Walking at a Dog-determined Pace
Specific questions are so helpful to me. It’s much more difficult to squirm out from under the examination when there are specific areas to consider as compared with generic questions such as, “How is your spiritual life?”
Thanks for this meaningful message.
Thank you Bruce, I always enjoy hearing and thinking about your feedback. Squirm is a good word. I squirmed as I wrote and answered these questions for myself. And, you’re so right—it’s easy to breeze by answering a generic question, but the specific ones…the more uncomfortable ones, are what really hold us accountable and truly help grow our faith. Thanks for pointing that out. Appreciate you!
Good morning, Jamie. Thank you for this. I love your questions given for us to ask in our private time with Him. May He continue to bless the work of your writing hands, my friend and sister in Christ.
Thank you for reading and for your comments Julie! I am so grateful to have you as a friend in writing and in faith. Enjoy the weekend!
Amen, Jamie! Thankful to walk with Jesus and write with you too.
Wow! Jamie, you peeled back so many layers to examine the depths of this well-known verse. With each set of questions you raised, for some I answered with a joyful affirmation of my devotion to the Lord Jesus in the given area, while in others, I see how much farther I need to go as I desire to grow closer and more devoted to Him. Great post for personal evaluation!
Thank you for your kind words and reflections on the post, Melissa. I appreciate learning and growing in faith with you!