In Mark 12:28-34, Jesus talks about the most important commandment: love. He emphasizes that it is important to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength and understanding. So, what does this mean?
To love God with all your heart means to love Him emotionally. It means falling in love with and having a heart that beats wildly for Him. It means giving Him permission to reside in your heart because no one can take better care of it–not even yourself.
To love God with all your soul means to treasure Him to the core of your being.
To love God with all your mind means to love Him and obey Him even when you are not feeling a spiritual high. It means to continue to commit to Him mentally, even in the midst of fluctuating emotions. It’s important to understand that love is not just a feeling but a commitment. Just because there is an absence of emotions does not mean there is an absence of God.
To love God with all your strength means to choose Him even when temptation is dancing around you and convincing you to join in with its tempo.
To love God with all your understanding means to love Him in the best way you know how to. The more you get to know Him, the better you will learn to love Him. Because of our human nature, it is impossible to treat God the way He deserves to be treated. But God delights in your presence, and He only ever dwells on the best parts of you and nothing less.
God yearns to be the center of attention in your life. He yearns for you to know Him for yourself and not by total reliance on what someone else has told you about Him. He knows that the moment you fully immerse yourself in His presence and get to know Him for who He is, it will bring out the best in you.
Jesus emphasized that loving God is the most important commandment because He understood that learning to correctly love God is the key to learning how to correctly love ourselves and each other.
God is love. The journey of learning to love Him is also a journey of becoming more like Him and reflecting His image.