With All Your Mind

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  03/11/22

In Matthew 22:37-38, Jesus spoke about loving the Lord with all your mind: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” Why is the mind so important?

The mind is the seat of the intellect and determination. The mind is the seat of the will and commitment. The mind is the battlefield. When you win the battle in the mind, you have won the hardest part of the battle.

If you want to grow in intimacy with Jesus, it has to be a continuous, decisive act of the mind and will. If you leave loving Jesus up to your feelings, moods, or circumstances, which change and fluctuate, your love will waver. It has to be the priority of your thinking, your decision making, and all your dreams and longings. It must be the priority of your time, your energy, and even your money.

When Jesus is the axle around which all the spokes of your priorities revolve, when He is the very center of your life, all other priorities will fall into place as everything begins to revolve around Him. When Jesus is at the center of the priority wheel, we will give Him the first fruit of the day—not the rotten, leftover fruit of our time and energy. We will make decisions with His will in mind rather than our own.

What do your thoughts revolve around? The center of your thinking—whether Christ, self, or something else—is the object of your worship. Only as you prioritize His desires over your own will you truly begin to love Jesus with all your mind.

As you become more dependent on Christ, the process of submitting your thoughts to Him will become more and more natural and joyful. As you partake in this act of worship, aligning your thoughts with His, He will be able to take you to new depths of intimacy with Him.

Prayer: Lord, as I seek to love You more with my mind, help me to rely on Your strength rather than my own. Only You can renew my mind. May my thoughts and decisions be centered around You. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).