One of my favorite stories in the gospels is the one where a Jewish teacher of the law comes to Jesus and asks him a question. “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

This story is told in three of the four gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Luke, and Mark. I like the way Mark tells it the best, in part because his intended audience was the common person who was not part of the Jewish faith.

From Mark 12:29-30, Jesus’ reply to the inquiry:

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Our love for God, according to Jesus, should be complete, including ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

He also uses the Greek word psuches (often translated “soul”), which actually is defined as ‘to breathe or blow,’ from which we get the words psyche and psychology, referring to a person’s distinct identity or individual personhood.

The way I see it is that within this distinct identity are three parts that hold it in balance – our emotions (heart), our thoughts (mind), and our actions (strength) – just like tension cables that hold a radio tower upright. Those radio tower cables are under enormous pressure to hold the sky-high towers steady and erect, yet flexible to sway in the inevitable winds that buffet them over time. Each cable must have equal tension so the tower doesn’t list to one side and succumb to the gusts, and the tension must be just right so the tower is not held so tautly that it breaks when a sudden blast of wind materializes.

Within each of us, I believe we need our emotions, thoughts, and actions all to be strong and in equal tension within us to hold our identity steady and yet flexible to withstand the gusts of cultural and societal winds and pressures, as well as day to day expectations and responsibilities.

Then, that same love from the first of Jesus’s instructions is referenced in the second where we are challenged to love our neighbor as ourselves.

If we see ourselves as unique individuals, comprised of our heart, mind, and strength, committed to loving God wholly, while at the same time valuing others equally with ourselves, I believe that is the incarnation of Jesus’ response.

However, the word love is used in many ways in modern culture – puppy love, parental love, love of country, romantic love, tough love, platonic love, love of money, erotic love, and on and on. When people focus only on the word love and define it as they see fit, it’s easy to see how there are so many different conclusions on how to love God and people.

Most of the New Testament, including the book of Mark, was written in Greek. That’s important to remember when we’re figuring out how to attempt living out these two greatest directives from Jesus. The Greek word used here in Mark is transliterated as agapeseis which is one of several versions or tenses of the word we know as agape.

Agape, meaning “to love”, in the New Testament usually refers to the active love of God for his Son and his people, and the active love his people are to have for him, each other, and even enemies. The same word is used in both the first and second of these two great imperatives.

In my own life, as I try to learn how to live out faith through love, even in the midst of uncertainty and questioning, the word humility keeps resurfacing. Living humbly embodies love to me. Humility is the way love acts and shows up. If one is humble towards God, or even to the universe if they are unsure of God’s specific existence, they admit that there is much about the world, truth, faith, and so on, that they do not know. If one is humble towards others, they admit that they are not better than nor less than others; oneself and others are of equal value and importance. Humility seems to be a proper understanding of one’s place in the world.

The great thinker and author C.S. Lewis says that, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” From his book, Mere Christianity, in the section on “The Great Sin,” he writes:

“Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody.

Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him.

If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”

Kevin Young, a pastor in North Carolina, wrote in his blog back in 2010 that, “There are hundreds of ways to love and myriad of ways to demonstrate humility. But one of the most effective ways to accomplish both is to simply ask questions.”

Loving God, or being humble towards God, with my whole individual person, means using my emotions, my brain, and my actions to live humbly with my fellow sojourners. I attempt to apply humility to how I feel, how I study, and how I treat others and the world. I don’t shut off my own feelings. I don’t turn off my intellect. I don’t sit passively while others have needs. I engage all of my uniqueness in the pursuit of love.