Our minds, the thoughts we entertain, are so powerful that Jesus pulls it out of the soul when He quotes the two greatest commandments. He says we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, ALL OUR MIND and all our strength. (see Dt 6:5 versus Mk 12:30) The greatest thing we can achieve in life is to love God with all we’ve got: all our spirit (heart), soul, ESPECIALLY our mind, and all our body (strength). It is from this love, this growing relationship we have with God, that everything else we truly desire in life, and from life, finds its fulfillment. And our MIND, what we are thinking about, is a huge part of the Abundant Life we crave.
I love how Jesus explains the power of our minds in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus cautions us to pay attention to what we are thinking, because eventually it will show up in our words and deeds. If we think about something for too long, we will act on it. This can be a scary idea, or a very encouraging one. If we think about how much the Father loves us, how the life of Jesus shows us how to live, and that the Holy Spirit is always with us to help us do so, then what will eventually be displayed is the same love, good example and compassionate heart that God has. This is a good thing indeed!
Since our thoughts and emotions are so tied together in our soul and so influenced by our beliefs, our mental, emotional and physical health can find their healing in the Word of God. The more we know Who and Whose we are, the more we can think the right thoughts that will lead to the optimal health that we are looking for.
<>< Peace, Diane
