Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Airport control towers are fascinating places. For such small rooms, they contain tremendous capacity and power. The instructions given from these towers prevent chaos and ensure safety. If anything goes wrong in them, the impact is felt beyond their walls and often constitutes great peril.
Similarly, we could say that our minds are the control towers of our bodies. What we do with our bodies is directly related to what is happening in our minds. In our minds we have the capacity to consider possibilities, make decisions, judge our feelings, and shape our affections. It’s no wonder, then, that Paul says that if we are to “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice” in response to God’s mercy to us in Christ (Romans 12:1), our minds are crucial.
Being a Christian involves taking on a radically altered mindset that results in increasingly pure thoughts and holy behavior, which are not seen in a life without Christ. As Paul writes earlier in Romans, “Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5). This change in perspective comes by the power of the Holy Spirit as He instructs us in the truth of God’s word.
Such a change is a process. Each day, we are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Our minds—indeed, our entire lives—are being renewed. We’re neither all we ought to be nor all we’re going to be—but we’re also not what we once were. And when our minds are under the jurisdiction of God’s Spirit and God’s word, the rest will inevitably follow as He intends. We realize that God’s way is best and are delighted to walk in it. We think before we act. We refuse to be shaped by the molds of this world, learning to see where we are being sold a mindset that is based on a lie rather than the truth of God’s word.
So trust that the power of God’s word will renew your mind, and ask the Spirit to work it in you. Look for ways in which the world is calling you to conform, and see those as opportunities to allow your mind to be transformed by godly wisdom instead. And do so not because you ought to but because it is your joy to, for you know that “blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold … Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:13-14, 17).
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Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, The Good Book Company.
