Fw: heart...soul...mind

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2017 7:10 AM
Subject: heart...soul...mind

Matthew 22:37-39 "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. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

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So what is the difference between heart and soul and mind?  Maybe it can also be thought of as emotion, will and intellect.  It seems that Jesus is taking the invisible part of our makeup and subdividing it to clarify the different ways we can love God.  Our emotion is our feeling, our passion, the place where tears come from and patriotism springs out of and happiness and sadness compete for center stage.  Our mind is our intellect, our reason, our comprehension of meaning and expression of ideas.  This is where logic gives us stability and where arguments find their foundation in fact.  Our soul may be where we put the passion and the thinking into action with resolve, choice, and commitment.  It is not enough to have feelings or to carry strong convictions if we don't go one more step to form decisions to act. 

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It is impossible for us to discern the division between heart and soul and mind.  They all seem mixed together in our inner being.  Only God can see us with x-ray vision. 

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Consider Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

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We need to love the Lord with all that is within us...passion, intellect and will, and we need the abiding counsel of God to discern our intentions and let us know where we are straying.  For He fashioned us so that we could return love to Himself and reflect His love to others.  This may be beyond our complete comprehension but not beyond our obedience.

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blessings,

Rob Smith