Love With All Your Mind

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Reflecting on the situation of American culture and the state of the church, I am compelled to ask a question related to this the first and greatest commandment in Scripture; are we loving God with all our minds?

My church recently held a baptism service, and as part of the service a video recording was played of the people who were baptized giving their testimony. Later, while reflecting on the service, a friend pointed out there was something significant missing from the testimonies; conviction over sin, punishment, redemption. All testimonies were focused on what God has done for the person on an emotional level. People would talk about the “bad stuff” which they were a part of, but very little was spoken about sin. The salvation experiences recounted were focused on feeling, not on sound judgment of the mind. But it seems this is characteristic of the church as a whole. People are lead into the church to find the answer to their immediate problems, to gain emotional relief. People come to Christ looking for that next emotional high, and when it leaves they leave the church or even the religion to find a new high to obtain.

I am convinced part of the cause for this is the church’s neglect of the mind. The church has followed the culture in seeking to fulfill the next emotional high. We develop programs and worship services centered around this high, but little is focused on the mind and real, thoughtful conviction of sin.

But the call to true Christian faith involves all of the faculties of humanity; emotion, strength, and the oft neglected mind. We must be careful as we share the Gospel to focus on sin and resulting punishment. Salvation is not about good feelings, though that may result. Salvation is not about finding ways to improve our earthly lives. Salvation is about dealing with sin, finding hope from living under the wrath of God. The Gospel is about redemption and forgiveness of sin. Yes this forgiveness often brings about a sense of relief, as if a huge weight has been lifted off the shoulders, and thus salvation is an emotional experience, but it is also an intellectual experience. We must remember the importance of the intellectual acknowledgment of sin for what it is, an affront to the will of God.

Maybe Paul’s summation of the problem with Israel can apply to the modern evangelical church;

For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10:2)

Zeal, emotional highs, warm fuzzies, the quest for health and prosperity all simply do not cut it. Knowledge of Christ, what he has done, is the only thing that will bring us to him in a lasting, meaningful relationship. Knowledge, the use of the mind, is required for true salvation.