All your mind...
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Scripture: Matthew 22:34-40 ~ "The Greatest Commandment" 34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
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'Love the Lord your God...with all your mind..." All your mind. At other times Jesus (as well as the Old Testament commandments) said "all your strength", or "all your mind and all your strength". The emphasis is that along side heart and soul, we are asked to love our God with all of our physical being, including conscious thought. All!
The picture comes to mind of King David, who danced before the Lord with all his might. (2 Sam. 6) That is one perspective; that when we do anything for God, we give it all we have. We pray, and worship, and serve, and dance(!) with all our might before the Lord. And that is good.
But I think it is more than that. It is more than giving 100% when we are doing "God stuff". It is making 100% of what we do (and think, and say) "God stuff". I do not mean that all we should do is church work, I mean that everything we do...at work, at home, at Wal-Mart, while driving, while loving our children and our spouses, while disciplining our children and arguing with our spouses...should have God right in the middle of it.
People only see objects because of the light that reflects off of them. Followers of Christ have the opportunity to see everything and everyone in the reflection of the light of God's love. When that happens, we remember that God is truly everywhere, all the time. And when we see Him, everywhere all the time, loving us...we can begin to, everywhere, all the time, love Him as well.
With all our mind, with all our strength. All. Amen.
P.S. Although we seek to love the Lord with all our minds and strength, the result comes, not from working harder or doing more, but by submitting ourselves to Him. That, however, is a subject for another day!
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Questions:1. How would you define "all your mind"?
2. Is there anything, or anyone, who gets more of what you do than God?
3. How can you come to be fully aware of His presence in your life?
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May we love Him with all...all...our mind. Jim
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"If you are strangers to prayer you are strangers to power." Billy Sunday
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