And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. – Mark 12:34

To be ignorant of the law of God is to be far off from the kingdom; and to be ignorant of the gospel is also to be in a measure far off from the kingdom: but this man knew the law and knew it well. He had a spiritual appreciation of its range, meaning, and spirituality. Notice how he puts it: he puts it well. He says, “To love God with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, -this is the first commandment.” Here we see, first, that he mentions sincere love, in the words “to love God with all the heart.” God is to be loved, not in name, not with lip language, not with mere pretense, but with the heart. God requireth by His law the hearty obedience of His creatures. Next, the scribe puts it, “With all thy understanding “; that is, God deserves and demands the intelligent love of His creatures. He does not ask blind love of them: He desires them to know something of Him, and of His works, and of His claims upon them, so as to love Him because He deserves their affection. The understanding must justify and impel the affections. Then, he puts it, “with all thy soul “; that is, with the emotional nature. Love God with feeling-not coolly, but with the whole force of your feeling. Love Him with your soul, for soul love is the soul of love. And then he adds, “and with all thy strength “; that is to say, intensity is to be thrown into our love to God. We are to serve Him with our might and throw all our whole energy into His worship. Thus, he gives us, under four heads, a description of the kind of love which the law of God requires of us-sincere-“with all thy heart”; intelligent-“with all thy understanding”; emotional-“with all thy soul”; intense and energetic-“with all thy strength.” This the scribe knew, and it was most valuable knowledge…Give us candour, and let that candour be attended with enlightenment, and we are sure that the possessor of these things is not far from the kingdom of God. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1517.cfm