Three essential qualities to loving God with all your mind …

When Jesus was asked what is the most important commandment, He didn’t hesitate responding with a clear and concise answer:

“‘Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?’ Jesus replied, ‘”You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment,'” Matthew 22:36-37.

When this passage is expounded upon, we tend to hear more about loving God with all our heart or all our soul, but we hear little about loving God with all our mind. Perhaps that’s because doing so is a part of discipleship that has been under-emphasized for decades, and in more recent years has even been ridiculed by several church leaders who devalue knowledge over “relationship.”

But here’s an important truth: It is more difficult to love someone you don’t know. It’s possible to choose to express the actions of love toward someone you don’t know, but the fullest experience of love is when we choose to express the actions of love with some level of knowledge about someone.

You’ll never get to loving God with all your heart and all your soul unless you’re pursuing loving God with all your mind. And to love God with all your mind, there’s a “trinity” of cognitive and intellectual development that is essential to our spiritual formation. That “trinity” is something the Bible strongly exhorts us to pursue: knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

According to the Bible, our spiritual formation is a process of becoming more like Jesus Christ in character and conduct. The Apostle Paul describes this process as being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) — more specifically, allowing the Holy Spirit to renew our thoughts and attitudes (Ephesians 4:23). To cooperate with that transforming work of the Holy Spirit so that we can love God with all of our mind, scripture exhorts us to seek development in these three areas:

Knowledge is the foundation of spiritual formation. It involves learning about God, His Word, and His ways. The Bible says that we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). We gain knowledge through reading and studying the Bible, listening to sermons, participating in Bible studies, and engaging in fellowship with other Christians.

Understanding is the ability to comprehend and apply the knowledge we have gained. It involves connecting the dots between what we know and how we live. The Bible says that we are to seek understanding and wisdom as we would seek for hidden treasures (Proverbs 2:1-5). We gain understanding through prayer, meditating on the Word of God, and seeking the counsel of wise and mature believers.

Wisdom is the ability to make godly choices and decisions based on the knowledge and understanding we have gained. It involves discernment, discretion, and good judgment. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). We gain wisdom through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the study of God’s Word, and the application of biblical principles in our daily lives.

As we apply ourselves to loving God with all of our mind in growing our knowledge and understanding of Him, and living that out with wisdom, doing so shapes us spiritually to become increasingly like our Lord, Jesus.

How are you applying your mind to loving God?

Scotty