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Heart, soul, mind, and strength mentioned above signify emotions, will, thinking, and doing which, we see, encapsulates the very essence of being human.

Humankind is made in the image and likeness of God, Genesis 1:26 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them”. God is the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost and these three are one. V29, “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word (Christ), and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one”. Similarly, mankind is body, soul and spirit and God made a ‘being’ who operates in thoughts, words, and deeds. The threefold aspect of our identity provides us with a uniqueness.

Animals experience a variety of basic emotions (grief, anger, happiness) but come nowhere near the complexity of human feelings and oft times mixed emotions. Likewise, animals communicate with each other, but they do not have a formal system of language. Many animals and mammals in particular, can learn specific tasks but they do not have a prefrontal cortex which enables reasoning or the ability to think as humans can. Finally, non-domesticated animals act mainly on instinct and follow a path destined for their kind whereas humankind has the Godlikeness of free will.

This capacity for us to choose against God’s intent is, at the same time, magnificent and yet catastrophically scary. What if we choose our will over Gods?

For this reason, when one of the clever scribes asked Jesus, the Word of God, “What is the first commandment?” – and He responds as quoted by Mark above – we should listen and take note.

Let us hear it again to help us make the right choice for our thoughts, words and actions.

Mark 12:30 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”