CSB
He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
NIV
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
ESV
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.
Memorization Strategies
Try one or two of these strategies to make memorizing easier, especially for dyslexia and learning differences.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart.
- Love the Lord your God: make a small heart shape with your hands, then point upward.
- with all your heart: place both hands over your chest.
- with all your soul: stretch your arms gently out and up, like offering your whole self to God.
- and with all your mind: tap your temples lightly with your fingertips, then open your hands as if giving your thoughts to Him.
Draw three simple icons: a heart (heart), a stick figure with rays around it (soul/whole self), and a small brain or head (mind). Write “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” around the three pictures.
Head Summary
When Jesus is asked which command is the greatest, he quotes this verse. Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind is the center of God’s will. Heart, soul, and mind together mean your emotions, your inner life, and your thoughts and plans. God is not looking for half-hearted love or just outside obedience. He calls us to a whole-person love that begins inside and flows out into everything we do.
Heart Prompt
Which part of you finds it easiest to love God right now: your heart (feelings), your soul (deep trust and identity), or your mind (thoughts and attention)? Which part feels hardest to offer to God, and why? How is loving God with all you are different from simply “being religious” or keeping a few rules?
Hands Practice
Family Question
What is one change our family could make that would show we want to love God more fully with our hearts, souls, and minds?
Prayer
Lord, You have loved us with all of who You are. Teach our family to love You with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds. Show us where we are holding back and help us give every part of our lives to You in love. Amen.