Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength: This is the first commandment. Mark 12:30
The ‘Heart of the Cross’ symbol is a call to love God with our all. The use of the word Heart is for the centre of all things. It also is a symbol for love in our culture.
The Bible verse here Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy. As the Lord was giving the law to Moses this was the very first commandment. It has several parts to it and this reflection is expanding our understanding from both the original Hebrew and Greek of what exactly is our heart and how do we then love Him with it.
In Deuteronomy 6:5 Israel was instructed to love God with all their heart.
The Hebrew word is ‘lebab’ its meaning is inner man, mind, will, heart. One translation of this word that gives a fuller understanding is ‘wholeheartedly’. When we are wholehearted we give something our all. We are courageous in our stand because we truly believe in something or someone.
In Matthew and Mark the Lord quotes Deuteronomy. In the Greek the words carry a slightly different meaning. The Greek word for heart is ‘Kardia’ from which are derived many medical terms in relation to the physical organ called our heart. In scripture although the word is used over 800 times, it is never used for the physical organ. The Greek word means so much more. It includes the heart, mind, character, inner self, will, intention, center. It has been described as being our moral center or desire-decision making center.
Using the meanings gleaned it is clear that Lord is asking us to choose Him with desire and wholeheartedly. As part of the Bride of Christ that is definitely what a Bridegroom would hope for from His Bride. Love the Lord with all your heart……
Thank-you. We love you.