For the past three weeks we’ve learned that the greatest command in the Bible is God commanding us to love him with all that we are (holos). Jesus commands us to love him with all our hearts (our desires, our will, our emotions), all our souls (our inner man, our whole lives), all our strength (with “umph,” passion, energy and intensity). To sum it up, we are commanded to love God with all that we are — we are to treasure God above all else.

So, what about the mind? What is Jesus after here? 

This is the truth I believe Jesus is after: YOU CANNOT TRULY LOVE SOMEONE OR SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW. 

In the Bible, the word “know” is often the Hebrew word “yada.” The word “know” (yada) is often referring to sexual intimacy. For example, Genesis 4:1 says, “Now Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain.” Therefore, “knowing” in Scripture is more than empty head knowledge. Knowing is essential for being intimate/close to someone. 

For example, I cannot truly love my wife Shelby if I don’t know her. All joking aside, the more I know about Shelby – her character, her dreams, her passions, her desires, what excites her, her struggles, what she is bringing to Jesus, the things that make her laugh and what makes her cry… THE MORE I FALL IN LOVE WITH HER. 

So, what is the point of loving God with all of our mind? 

John Piper explains this so well: 

Loving God with the mind means that our thinking is wholly engaged to do all it can to awaken and express the heartfelt fullness of treasuring God above all things…. Treasuring God is the essence of loving him, and the mind serves this love by comprehending (imperfectly and partially, but truly) the truth and beauty and worth of the treasure.

So, in order to truly love God with all you are and treasure him above all else, you must learn to think in such a way that you comprehend how amazing he is. When you do this your love will awaken and you will begin to treasure him for who he is. 

For example, when I begin to think about how much my wife lays down her life to serve me, care for our children, the way she works so hard to keep the house in order, homeschool the kids, make dinner, encourages us and brings life and joy and energy into my life, the more I behold her beauty and worth and the more I love her and treasure her.

Read Psalm 103:1-5 out loud and expound on each point in prayer. For example, 

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity…” Thank you Lord that you forgive me of all my sins! Thank you that you have removed my pride, my insecurities, my ego, my fleshly cravings, my self-centeredness, my idolatry as far as the east is from the west! Thank you that by the blood of Jesus, my sins have been forgiven and my debt paid…” 

Spend time meditating on all God’s goodness that Psalm 103 portrays so that you see God in all his beauty and glory and treasure him above all else.

Lord, help me today to love you with all my mind. Help me to study and know your word so that I can know how beautiful and glorious you are. Give me a revelation from your word today and every day of how awesome you are that leads to treasuring you above all else. In Jesus’ Name, amen.