“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.'”
Matthew 22:37 (ESV)
The mind—that remarkable gift that sets humans apart in creation. When Jesus commands us to love God with all our mind, He’s elevating intellectual engagement with God as an essential aspect of true love. This isn’t about being scholarly or academic; it’s about honoring God with the full capacity of our thinking.
In a culture that often separates faith from reason, Jesus’ command is revolutionary. He doesn’t ask us to check our brains at the door of faith. Instead, He calls us to engage our minds fully in loving God. This means our intellect isn’t an obstacle to faith—it’s a pathway to deeper love.
Consider how the apostle Paul modeled this. In Acts 17, he reasoned with philosophers in Athens, engaging their intellectual questions while pointing them to Christ. Paul wasn’t anti-intellectual; he was supremely intellectual, using his mind as a tool for expressing and sharing his love for God. His letters demonstrate rigorous thinking, careful argumentation, and deep theological reflection—all flowing from a heart that loved God completely.
Loving God with all our mind begins with recognizing that God is the source of truth. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” This means intellectual honesty isn’t just about avoiding lies; it’s about aligning our thinking with reality as God has revealed it. When we love God with our minds, we become passionate about truth because we’re passionate about Him.
This love expresses itself in careful study of Scripture. The mind that loves God doesn’t approach the Bible casually but with the same intensity a lover reads letters from their beloved. It asks questions: What does this passage mean? How does it connect to other parts of Scripture? What is God revealing about Himself here? This isn’t dry intellectualism—it’s the mind in love, eager to understand more about the One it adores.
But loving God with our mind goes beyond Bible study. It means bringing our faith into dialogue with all areas of knowledge. How does our understanding of God inform our approach to science, literature, politics, or relationships? The mind that loves God refuses to compartmentalize, instead seeking to understand how God’s truth illuminates every aspect of reality.
This doesn’t mean we have to become theologians or philosophers. It means we take our questions to God rather than away from Him. When we encounter intellectual challenges to faith, we don’t ignore them or suppress them. Instead, we engage them thoughtfully, trusting that God is big enough to handle our questions and intelligent enough to provide satisfying answers.
Consider how this applies to doubt. Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith—it’s often the beginning of deeper faith. The mind that loves God treats doubt as an invitation to dig deeper, to understand more, to grow stronger. Thomas the disciple doubted the resurrection, but his doubt led to one of the most profound declarations of faith in Scripture: “My Lord and my God!”
Loving God with all our mind also means cultivating wisdom. Proverbs tells us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This isn’t talking about being afraid of God but about approaching Him with appropriate reverence and awe. When we recognize God’s greatness and our dependence on Him, we become teachable. We hold our opinions lightly while holding to truth firmly.
This intellectual love also involves defending truth with gentleness and respect. First Peter 3:15 calls us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” But notice the manner: “with gentleness and respect.” The mind that loves God engages in apologetics not to win arguments but to win hearts.
Perhaps most importantly, loving God with our mind means thinking His thoughts after Him. This is what happens when we meditate on Scripture, when we pray thoughtfully, when we consider His works in creation. Our minds become aligned with His perspective, seeing the world through His eyes, valuing what He values, understanding what He understands.
The practical implications are significant. When we love God with our minds, we approach decisions differently. We don’t just ask “What feels right?” but “What aligns with God’s revealed truth?” We consume media, choose relationships, and make career decisions through the lens of biblical wisdom. We become people of principle because we’re people of truth.
This intellectual love also protects us from deception. When our minds are saturated with God’s truth, we become more discerning. We can spot false teaching, recognize cultural lies, and navigate complex moral issues with wisdom. The mind that loves God becomes increasingly sharp and discerning.
The beautiful promise is that as we love God with our minds, He renews our thinking. Romans 12:2 tells us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” As we engage our intellect in loving God, He transforms our thought patterns, our worldview, our entire mental framework. We begin to think more like Christ.
Prayer: Father, I offer You my mind—my questions, my curiosity, my reasoning. Help me to love You not just emotionally but intellectually. Transform my thinking to align with Your truth. Make me wise and discerning, always growing in my understanding of You and Your ways. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lance is the founding and lead pastor of Calvary Chapel Oxnard where he has served since 1982. Lance & David Guzik co-pastored the church for six years before David planted a church in a nearby community.
Lance & his wife Lynn were married in 1980 and have three adult children and five grandchildren. Lance loves teaching the Bible, History, and Leadership. He holds Masters-of-Arts in Biblical Studies and Ministry.
Lance serves as a chaplain for both the Oxnard and Port Hueneme Police Departments and enjoys backpacking, wood-working, working out, gardening, home improvement projects, reading, and graphic design.
The popular Communio Sanctorum: History of the Christian Church podcast can be found in both audio and video at the Into His Image website along with a growing inventory of Lances teaching.
