What does it mean to be human? And what is our telos—our end, our purpose?

It’s a question that has nagged every human for millennia (some actively pursue an answer, some just binge Netflix to avoid it).

It’s the question that drives philosophers, theologians, artists, revolutionaries and more.

It’s the question that, whether we actively think about it or not, ultimately drives everything we do.

Men and women much smarter than I have asked and put forth answers to this question for as long as humans have been around.

Yet one answer seems to rise above the rest.

In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus of Nazareth provides an answer to the question of who we are and what we are to do.

King Jesus is having yet another theological debate with the religious leaders of his day. They’re putting forth their best theological quandaries in the age-old game of what-about-ism. After cutting through their comically complex scenario of a widow marrying seven brothers, Jesus nails the answer.

So much so that one of the religious leaders trusted him with a real question. A question that spoke to the core of his being. One not built on fanciful and outlandish scenarios that would never actually crop up in life, but a question that had real import into his life, and the life of the people he was supposedly leading.

Here’s what we read:

28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31)

In this one simple, tweet-able answer from Jesus of Nazareth, we see the answer to the deep questions of life.

Andy Crouch draws on this passage in his work, The Life We’re Looking For. In it, Crouch argues that Jesus’ anthropology (a fancy term for “what does it mean to be human?”) is simply that we are “heart-soul-mind-body complexes created for love.”

Did Jesus Bungle Scripture?

Jesus, in this snapshot from his life, is quoting what are arguably the most important verses in all of the Old Testament, which for an Israelite at this time would’ve been all the “Bible” they had.

But, Jesus actually didn’t quote it directly as it is written in Deuteronomy 6. What gives? Take a look at what it says.

4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

The Shema—the catchphrase for this bedrock prayer in the Jewish faith—only includes loving God with our heart, our soul, and our strength.

Theologians (and philosophers) have debated for centuries about what it means to be human. What are the “parts” of a human, if you will? The most common theories are bipartitie (we are made up of body and soul) and tripartite (we are made up of body, mind, and soul).

In rephrasing the Shema in Mark 12, Jesus seems to offer a different path completely. Many smart theologians have not simply glossed over Mark 12 and have compelling arguments for how Mark 12 fits into their bipartite or tripartite visions of humanity, but as I have meditated more and more on Mark 12, and lived as a human (yes, I’m not a robot), Jesus’ four-part view of humanity seems to, at least, provide a broader framework for how we might think about being human.

So, how might we think about these parts?

First, our body. This is the physical you, the real you. The touchable, squeezable, sometimes smelly you. It’s the you that is made up of 206 bones, 60,000 miles of blood vessels, and a lot of water. It’s the you that is limited, that makes you contingent, unlike God, who is spirit.

Second, our mind. Think of this as the intellect. The part of you that engages with ideas. The part of you that is decoding these markings on the page into some decipherable message. And it’s the part of you that—if you’ve grown up in the West—is viewed as the primary means of change.

Third, our heart. Think of this as the seat of your emotions. It’s the part of you that all the big feelings come from; the joy, the sadness, the anger, the fear, the confusion, it all comes from your heart, from your affect.

Fourth, our soul. This is the part of you, that though it is you, it’s the least human, per se. Your soul (or spirit) is the immaterial part of you; the part of you that will one day leave your body at death. It is when I think about the other-worldliness of my soul that the idea becomes so real to me. There often—if not always—are longings deep within our souls for something more than this world has to offer. These desires—longings—I think are what French philosopher Blaise Pascal, is getting at when he says that every human has a god-shaped hole in them. It’s the deepest part of us; the part that, though embodied, cries out to return to its otherworldly home.

Being human is so complex. You know it. You feel it. You live it.
So if being a human is so complex, then becoming fully human must also be complex. It is this becoming fully human that is often called spiritual formation.