When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded with Deuteronomy 6:4, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (ESV; see also, Matt 22:37; Mark 12:3; Luke 12:30). We will be looking at the first of these three aspects––the heart.

             What is meant by “heart?” For us, the heart may mean desire, fondness, love, and passion. While “heart” can mean the seat of desire in the Bible, it was also the place where mental activity occurred. This can be demonstrated in Ecclesiastes 1:13a, “And I applied my heart to seek…all that is done under heaven.” Another way it could be translated is “And I set my mind to seek…all that has been done under heaven” (NASB; emphasis mine).

A part of loving God is dedicating our minds to his service. While we may know many useful things, are we using our knowledge to advance God’s kingdom? One way we can do this is by filling our minds with Scripture and its worldview. Additionally, teaching others the gospel and training ourselves to meditate on God’s will is another way to submit our minds and desires to God. This mindset will result in having a renewed mind (Rom 12:2), which ponders heavenly things rather than our worldly desires (Col 1:1–2).