Most of us know the Great Commandments. When asked to name the greatest commandment, Jesus answers:
“One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Mt 22:35–40).
When most of us quote these verses, we abbreviate them to “Love God with all of your heart.” We see our relationship with God as an intensely emotional experience. We claim to “feel the Spirit” when our eyes swell with tears and our hearts are filled with warmth. Worship is often defined as “moving” when we have our feelings stirred and for most of us, that’s good enough.
We totally ignore the rest of the commandment to love God with our full essence and our minds. Loving God, worshiping God is more than an emotional response. True worship involves our total lives. No, let me be more clear. True worship consumes our lives. Worship happens when our desires, our dreams, our hopes, our energy, our pain and our thoughts are all directed toward God.
And that includes our minds. In Philippians 4, Paul writes, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things,” (Php 4:8). The word “dwell” means to “ponder,” “to reason through.” In other words, the things of God are to be the focus of what we think about – all the time!
So, how do we do that?
First, we read the Bible. Don’t read books about the Bible (more about that later). Read the Bible. Make sure the most important source of wisdom, thought, truth and reality comes from the Bible. Read the Bible slowly. Take notes. Talk about what you’re reading with your friends. Practice what you’re learning and take notes and what happens when you directly apply the teachings of Christ to your own life. Carry a Bible with you everywhere you go. Whenever you have a few minutes, read your Bible. Let the Bible form your thoughts, desires, and your character.
Second, read the great books of the faith. There are books published everyday. There are some good books published. There aren’t many great ones. There are a handful of books that have stood the test of time. Books like Augustine’s “Confessions,” “Bonhoeffer’s “The Cost of Discipleship,” and Dallas Willard’s “The Kingdom Conspiracy,” are books followers of Christ have found to be rich and life-giving regardless of the current circumstances of their lives. Too many Christian books end up being spiritual candy. When you need something solid, read one of the classics.
Third, get in a group where these ideas are discussed. Nothing cements our thinking more than a lively discussion where we have to defend our ideas and listen open mindedly to the thoughts of others. Too many small groups end up being gossip sessions or round tables about the current political events. We need more than this in our lives. Find people who are serious about their Bible study and come with their own notes, insights and questions. Conversations like this can be life changing.
Fourth, guard your thinking. While we can’t necessarily control every thought that comes to our minds, we can control what we choose to focus on. If we have an inappropriate thought, and we all do, switch your focus to something that matters. After a little practice, this will become automatic for you. Here’s why this is important. What we think about becomes what we do and what we do becomes who we are. This is why we’re to love God with our minds because what we think about determines our character.
Jesus said all the law and prophets hinge on these two verses. He was assuming we knew to keep the whole intent of these commandments. Love God with all of your heart – and all of your mind.
