Theme of the Week: Heart, Mind, Strength
Bible Verse: “’Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16
What does it mean to love God with all our minds? The first reaction of some people to this dimension of our love for God is, “Well, if you’re talking about studying and reading, I’m sorry, but that’s not for me.” To them, loving God with all one’s mind is merely the hobbyhorse of a few people inclined in that direction; the rest of us can forget about it. It’s a natural reaction, but also dangerous and unwise. I am convinced that all of us need to develop our intellectual lives to the glory of God.
In light of what He has done in the realm of our minds, God gives us clear commands about our minds, such as “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2) and “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). He has taken a darkened, futile and ignorant mind and made it, not new, but capable of being renewed. That’s our job – to take renewable minds and make them progressively new.
But this is not easy because we have an enemy scheming against us. Satan’s fundamental strategy, his most insidious moves against us, are in the realm of our minds. Our minds are the primary bull’s-eye that the enemy is aiming for. Sometimes he does this directly, often through individuals in his service. At other times he does it through the surrounding culture, whose collective mind-set Satan has shaped.
Because of this opposition to the task of renewing our minds, God has called us to spiritual warfare and given us weapons with which to fight: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
To encourage us in the battle, God has given us not only weapons, but a promise. The resurrected Lord Jesus Christ not only inflames our hearts but He also instructs our minds with the Scriptures. Burning hearts and instructed minds are what God promises us if we will set our minds on things above, obey the commandments and enter into this warfare to repossess our minds, tearing down strongholds and taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Jesus Christ.
At this point you may be saying, “OK, maybe theology is for all of us, but I don’t have what it takes. I don’t have the gifts, the intellectual capacity, the opportunity to study.” There isn’t a single Christian who cannot learn to love God with all his or her mind because Christians have the mind of Christ. You may not become a teacher or a preacher. You may never write texts on systematic theology. But you can learn to love God with your mind.
This is the challenge before you. Will you love God with all your mind?
Taken from Heart, Mind, Strength: Loving God With All You’ve Got by Sunder Krishnan, Copyright © 2003 by Sunder Krishnan. Used with permission.
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