In my days at college, I heard a lot about "loving God with your mind."
It was always in a highly esoteric and educational sense. You must study theology, or you're not loving God with your mind. You must sit down and think at least 45 minutes of deep thought a day, or you're not loving God with your mind. You must be able to debate XZY and 123.
I'd like to challenge that today.
God wants us to be people of thought. Throughout the Bible are commands to ponder, meditate, think on, renew our minds, to consider, to learn.
Have you ever heard a parent say "Why didn't you just think about what you were doing?" in frustration to their child?
How the thought is supposed to be intricately connected to action!
I think the fault of the "intellectually heavily theological" bit of loving God with your mind is that is where it ends.
But God wants our thought to be interwoven with action. John 14:15 gives us Jesus' thoughts on love summed up in an action verb.
He wants us to think about what we're doing. Loving God with our minds is an act of worship because the thought predilects how we live, how we serve, and how we obey. Our thought produces a why and wherefore, and we go and live as such.
I've been so convicted recently of many areas in my life that I live thoughtlessly. I sit back and let culture or laziness take over areas of my life. I have no reason for doing what I'm doing---it's just the way that is easiest or the way that everyone does things or the way I've always done things.
But I've been called to think. To love God with my mind. Are these actions, however minute, serving God, reflecting His goodness and character to the world around me?
How and what do I purchase?
Think.
To whom do I speak, and whom do I avoid?
Think.
How do I speak, and what are my conversational topics?
Think.
How do I spend my leisure time?
Think.
If my God is in control of my entire life, and if I am called to be a person of thought, there should be no area off-limits to thoughtful reflection.
Things get a little uncomfortable.
“Our religion is the sum total of our habits.”
~ Chauncey Riddle
Let us be Christians of thought.
Let us love God with our minds.
It was always in a highly esoteric and educational sense. You must study theology, or you're not loving God with your mind. You must sit down and think at least 45 minutes of deep thought a day, or you're not loving God with your mind. You must be able to debate XZY and 123.
I'd like to challenge that today.
God wants us to be people of thought. Throughout the Bible are commands to ponder, meditate, think on, renew our minds, to consider, to learn.
Have you ever heard a parent say "Why didn't you just think about what you were doing?" in frustration to their child?
How the thought is supposed to be intricately connected to action!
I think the fault of the "intellectually heavily theological" bit of loving God with your mind is that is where it ends.
But God wants our thought to be interwoven with action. John 14:15 gives us Jesus' thoughts on love summed up in an action verb.
He wants us to think about what we're doing. Loving God with our minds is an act of worship because the thought predilects how we live, how we serve, and how we obey. Our thought produces a why and wherefore, and we go and live as such.
I've been so convicted recently of many areas in my life that I live thoughtlessly. I sit back and let culture or laziness take over areas of my life. I have no reason for doing what I'm doing---it's just the way that is easiest or the way that everyone does things or the way I've always done things.
But I've been called to think. To love God with my mind. Are these actions, however minute, serving God, reflecting His goodness and character to the world around me?
How and what do I purchase?
Think.
To whom do I speak, and whom do I avoid?
Think.
How do I speak, and what are my conversational topics?
Think.
How do I spend my leisure time?
Think.
If my God is in control of my entire life, and if I am called to be a person of thought, there should be no area off-limits to thoughtful reflection.
Things get a little uncomfortable.
“Our religion is the sum total of our habits.”
~ Chauncey Riddle
Let us be Christians of thought.
Let us love God with our minds.
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