In Part 1 of Three Essentials for a Surrendered Life (which you can read here), I made the point that to truly live a surrendered life it is critical we have a right view of who God is and who we are not. We observed that in Philippians 2:6-7 even Jesus Christ did not consider equality with God a thing to attain, but instead humbled Himself and submitted to the will of the Father. Yet so often we aim to be God. To live surrendered, we must give up trying to be God in ways we are not called to be.
What do I believe is the second essential for living a surrendered life? It’s simple–obey the greatest commandment. Matthew 22:36-37 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Simple, but not easy.
Heart, soul, and mind make up the entirety of who we are, but each also reflects a specific piece of our identity.
Our heart is the center of all our desires and emotions. It contains and reveals our true motivations and affections. To love God with all our heart means He is our greatest desire and treasure, and we value our relationship with Him above anything else. As Matthew succinctly stated, “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
Our soul is a bit harder to define. It is the eternal part of our existence, our inner being, that which animates us. Some commentaries simply define it as life. Our soul includes our will. To love God with all our soul is to be completely devoted to Him. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)
Our mind is our intellect, knowledge, and understanding. To love God with all our mind means to know Him and His character, to hunger and thirst for His word and instruction. We can know a lot about God but not know Him. Truly loving Him with our mind allows us to discern His will and to understand His character. It is transformational. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
We say we love God, but it’s that word ALL in the commandment that differentiates. The ALL is big. The ALL is everything. ALL means completely, fully, entirely, totally, wholly, absolutely, utterly, thoroughly, in every respect, without reservation or exception. It is all encompassing. Our entire being is to display that we love God.
ALL means nothing held back—total surrender.
Not easy, but loving God with all that we are simply renders to Him what is due. To love Him with our heart, soul and mind is to aim to love Him as He loves us.
So, to live a surrendered life, we must have a right concept of who God is and who we are not, and we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Next week…Part 3.