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We have been studying the topic of “Loving God With All Your Mind” in our Bible Study Class for some weeks now using the text book written by Elizabeth George. During the course of our studies, we have addressed several topics including, “Training Your Thoughts”, “Winning Over Worry”, “Pressing For The Price”, and so on. But why is our mind so important to God that He spoke about it in several passages in the Old Testament like Deuteronomy 6 all the way to chapter 30 as well as the New Testament?
Well, the website defines the human mind as “the set of faculties including cognitive aspects such as consciousness, imagination, perception, thinking, intelligence, judgement, language and memory as well as noncognitive aspects such as emotion and instinct”. In Matthew 22: 35-40, Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”.
I submit to you that our mind is important to God among other things, because our mind is the chamber where our thoughts begin – the thought to love and obey God or not obey Him; the thought to build or to destroy; the thought to praise the Living God or to praise a lesser god; the thought to love our neighbor which comprises members of our family, someone we come across at a Gas Station or Bank, someone who happens to be our co-worker or business associate and many more people who we come in contact with in the business of living our daily lives. According to Elizabeth George, our minds are subjected to about ten thousand thoughts in one day! In addition to the thousands of thoughts that come to our mind daily, we also have multiples of social media feeding our minds with all kinds of information; while some of this information may be wholesome, others may not be. Little wonder then that Jesus admonished us not to “conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will” – Romans 12: 2 (NIV). And if some of these thoughts are not pure and holy, what can we do to exercise obedience? Because we cannot obey God if we do not love Him!
First, by renewing our mind on a daily basis, we stand to profit in our walk with the Lord because His Word has the power to filter and remove completely all the contaminants in our mind and lift us up above various elements of sins that may be besting us. Secondly, I recommend we pay attention to the Word of God as written in Philippians 4:8, which states – “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things”.
In order for us to profit from this command, I believe that we need to dig deeper about each virtue and seek the help of the Holy Spirit to assist us with compliance. I also think that while meditating on this verse is important, it is more profitable to act on it – for it is by acting on it that we realize the benefit of compliance and the joy of our relationship with the Father. While some people may say that loving God with all our mind is impossible, I suggest that we take one virtue at a time and comply with the command to renewing our mind one day at a time. You and I know that we serve a good God and as such, He would not have told us to do the impossible. If God said it, He would supply the grace for us to rise to the challenge. Praise the Living God! – Pastor Samson Adedapo
