based on the sermon prepared and preached by Jeff Jantzi, January 19, 2025
When Jesus declared the greatest commandment in Mark 12, He wasn’t just quoting the ancient Shema from Deuteronomy 6—He was expanding it. While the original command calls God’s people to love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength, Jesus adds something new: the mind. But why?
In Jesus’ time, intellectual life played a significant role in culture, and He made it clear that loving God isn’t just about emotion or action—it includes our intellect, reasoning, and thought life. This addition is particularly relevant today, as Christianity is often dismissed as anti-intellectual. Critics argue that faith requires believers to “check their brains at the door,” but Jesus Himself affirmed the opposite. He called His followers to engage deeply, think critically, and love God with all their minds.
So, what does it truly mean to love God with our minds? And how does embracing this commandment counter the misconceptions about faith and reason? Let’s explore.
Loving God with Our Minds: Engaging Both Intellect and Thought Life
So, what does it mean to love God with all our minds? To break it down, we can think of the mind in two key ways: our intellect and our thoughts. While intellect refers to our ability to learn, reason, and seek knowledge, our thoughts encompass our reflections, emotions, and daily mental patterns. Both play a crucial role in our relationship with God.
Loving God with Our Intellect
Loving God with our intellect means valuing learning and using our minds to deepen our understanding of faith. In 1 Peter 3:15-16, Peter urges believers to be ready to give a defense for their faith, doing so with gentleness and respect. This concept, known as apologetics, highlights the importance of a well-reasoned faith—one that can engage with hard questions, study scripture deeply, and interact thoughtfully with different perspectives.
As theologian R.C. Sproul put it:
“A mindless Christianity is no Christianity at all. We can’t love what we don’t know.”
This means embracing learning, not avoiding it. It means reading books, listening to thoughtful discussions, and engaging with ideas that challenge and stretch our thinking. It doesn’t mean we all have to become theologians, but it does mean taking seriously the call to grow in knowledge and understanding.
Intellectual Engagement in 2025
Not everyone is naturally drawn to deep study or philosophy, and that’s okay. Loving God with our intellect isn’t about becoming a scholar—it’s about taking intentional steps to learn and grow. That might mean:
Reading more about faith and theology
Listening to podcasts or lectures that challenge and inspire
Addressing doubts and tough questions with honesty
Pursuing excellence in academics or encouraging it in others
Joining a Bible study or taking a course to deepen understanding
As John Piper reminds us:
“God is not honored when people get excited about how little they know of Him.”
So, how might you engage your mind more fully in 2025? What steps can you take to grow in knowledge and love God with all your intellect?
Loving God with Our Thoughts
While loving God with our intellect involves learning and growing in knowledge, loving Him with our thoughts means being mindful of what fills our minds daily. Our thought life—what we focus on, dwell on, and believe—shapes our emotions, actions, and ultimately, our lives.
The Power of Our Thoughts
The Bible repeatedly emphasizes the importance of our thoughts. In Philippians 4:8, Paul instructs us to fix our thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Similarly, Colossians 3:1-2 calls us to set our minds on heavenly things rather than earthly distractions. And in Romans 12:2, Paul speaks of transformation through the renewing of our minds—comparing it to a metamorphosis, where God reshapes our thought patterns.
This matters because, as Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Our thoughts direct our lives. They influence our choices, our behavior, and even our spiritual growth.
Battling Negative Thoughts
Research suggests that the average person has around 60,000 thoughts per day, with up to 75% of them being negative—thoughts that are critical, anxious, shameful, or discouraging. Even if these numbers are exaggerated, the reality remains: we all struggle with negative thinking.
Many of these thoughts, as Craig Groeschel points out in Winning the War in Your Mind, are deeply ingrained:
I just can’t change.
I’ll never be financially stable.
No one really loves me.
I’ll never be good enough.
Similarly, Henri Nouwen describes five common lies of identity:
I am what I have.
I am what I do.
I am what others think of me.
I am defined by my worst moments.
I am only as good as my best achievements.
These lies can take root in our minds, subtly shaping how we live and how we see ourselves. But the good news is, we are not powerless against them.
Renewing Our Minds
Loving God with our thoughts means intentionally replacing negativity with His truth. It means aligning our mindset with Scripture and allowing God to reshape how we think. This could look like:
Meditating on God’s promises rather than dwelling on fear
Challenging negative thoughts with biblical truth
Spending less time on things that fuel comparison or anxiety
Speaking words of encouragement to ourselves and others
If our thoughts truly shape our lives, then choosing to center them on God’s truth can be one of the most powerful ways to love Him with all our minds.
So, what thoughts are directing your life right now? And how can you take steps to love God with all of your thoughts in 2025?
Filling Our Minds with Truth
So, what can we do about all this? If we’re called to love God with all our thoughts, how do we actually do that when so many of our thoughts are negative, discouraging, or even misleading?
There’s a lot we could explore—like taking our thoughts captive as Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 10:5, surrendering our minds to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and standing firm in our identity in Christ rather than the lies we so often believe.
But if there’s one key practice that helps us love God with all our thoughts, intellect, and minds, it’s this:
Fill Your Mind with God’s Word
Not a new idea. Nothing complicated. Just a simple, powerful truth: the more we fill our minds with Scripture, the more our thoughts are shaped by God’s truth rather than the world’s lies.
Psalm 119 emphasizes this again and again:
God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
It’s sweeter than honey—something to be delighted in.
It keeps us on the right path, guiding our thoughts and actions.
This is how transformation happens. As Romans 12:2 reminds us, God renews our minds through His Word, exposing lies and replacing them with truth.
Practical Steps for 2025
How can you be intentional about filling your mind with God’s Word this year?
Follow a reading plan – Apps like YouVersion offer countless plans (including audio versions).
Establish a rhythm – Can you wake up a little earlier? Set aside time daily?
Join a Bible study – Engaging with Scripture in community helps deepen understanding.
Memorize key verses – Hiding God’s Word in your heart makes it more accessible in daily life.
The truth is, we become what we think about most. So, let’s be people who fill our minds with God’s truth—loving Him with all our thoughts, every single day.
