Because some scriptures are so familiar, we tend to assume we know exactly what they mean. For example, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
What it does NOT mean is that you are a four-part being -a heart, a soul, a mind, and a strength being. And that you should be trying your utmost to love God in all four of those parts of your life.
Yeshua was quoting a first testament scripture when He spoke these words, and all those parts are actually an idiom, simply meaning totality or without reservation.
When that scripture is applied to us AFTER the Resurrection, it now takes the focus completely off of us, and any ’trying with our utmost.’ It, now, becomes all about Him. Loving God with your all (heart, soul, mind, strength) is, now, all about allowing by invitation His perfect Love, which is already in you, to progressively (daily, hourly, continually) invade every aspect of your life.
Here’s another familiar scripture …with the same message. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” What it does NOT mean is that God should be at the top of all your priority lists. (God, family, job, etc.) What it does mean is that the Kingdom of God is THEE first and only, and there is NO second. His Kingdom is everything and any priority we have on our list that is not totally surrounded and defined by His Kingdom is to completely ‘miss the mark’ (root meaning of sin).
Yeshua adds “and His Righteousness” because the free gift of His Righteousness is why we are already in the Kingdom. So, ‘seeking first’ really means just letting what’s already in you become first place in every aspect of your life. This is just like what “Loving Him with all your heart," etc. is all about.
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