Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:34-40 TEV
“Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your mind” Matthew 22:37 TEV
When Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandment in the Law, he gives the familiar response found in this scripture passage. The message is clear; one cannot be half hearted in your faith You must be completely committed to walking through life in a relationship of loving faith in and with God.
At the same time I wonder how many of us have paused to consider what it means to “love God with all your mind.” The human mind is an emergent property of the brain, an organ that functions in many different ways as we seek to discover and live faithfully to what is true. For example the left hemisphere of our brains uses logic and reason to test various hypotheses of what is real. The right hemisphere of our brains searches for reality and truth using intuition and the power of creativity.
Our love of God with the whole of our minds requires us to acknowledge and use the full range of our mental capacities as we live our lives in relationship to Almighty God. Our faith must be examined both rationally and intuitively as our faith matures. Faith, in that sense, is not blind, but an ever expanding understanding of God and what God seeks for our lives as we go on our spiritual journey. As Paul reminds us, “When I was a child, …I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man I gave up childish ways.” I Corinthians 13:11 RSV. While some of us may use one pathway more than the other, e.g. the pathway of mysticism or the journey of the philosopher or scientist, loving God with all our mind means using all the mental resources God has given us to continue to develop a mature faith. Only as we do so can we continue to deepen our relationship with God, and live ever more faithfully.
As we begin this Lenten season, let us use it as a time for thinking about our faith and how we are seeking to maintain a full commitment to loving God; body, mind and spirit.
Reflections 