By: Curtis Baker
I have often heard it said that we only use ten percent of the capacity of our brains. If this happens to be true, this opens up fascinating possibilities of what we could be capable of if we could access all, or even just a portion of our untapped potential. If we are capable of doing some of the extraordinary things we have done with only ten percent of our total capacity, one wonders what might happen if we could access twenty, fifty, or even one hundred percent of our potential. In some ways, that sounds like an exciting possibility! In other ways, it sounds frightening. As a matter of fact, this summer a movie is being released whose story line is based on this very possibility. Our minds are powerful things. They are capable of great good…but also great evil.
Because this is true, we can understand why Paul is so emphatic in Romans chapter eight about the importance of the mind in our spiritual life. If the mind is half as powerful as we think it might be, this is one aspect of our life that must be seriously disciplined if we are going to live into the life that Paul calls us to in Jesus Christ.
Last week, we already saw in the first four verses of chapter eight that Paul has announced that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. In Christ, the Spirit has set us free from the old law that held us in condemnation because we were disobedient. But freedom from fear of punishment is not all that God wants to do for us in Christ. Forgiveness is only the first step (albeit, a very important step!) of a process of redeeming us back into the kind of people that God made us to be. Once the issue of sin has been taken care of through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the next thing that God wishes to do for us is to free us from the patterns of thought and behavior that have enslaved us to sin and death.
Even though this is ultimately something that must be done by God, this does not mean that we are passive in the process of our own transformation. Our minds belong to us, and we have a certain amount of control on what it focuses on. Random thoughts are nearly uncontrollable, and we should not worry about the things that sometimes pop into our heads. But where we do have a choice is on which thoughts we will dwell upon. What Paul is instructing his readers to do is to set their minds on the things of the Spirit, rather than on what our sinful nature desires.
It should be noted here that this takes some practice, and is something that is mastered over a period of time, not all at once. The patterns of our thinking are very much habitual, and like any habit, it takes time and purpose to break it. But the good news is we are not alone in our efforts. God honors the intention of our hearts, and therefore, if we desire to set our minds on the things of the Spirit, rather than on sin, God will assist us through his grace. We will fail many times in our pursuit of a pure heart, but failure is not reason for despair. God is working a good work in us, and he will see it through to its goal. But he will not do it for us. We have to want to. Or at the very least, we have to want to want to.
But for those who are willing to take this narrow road, a wonderful result awaits. It is a mind at peace and full of life. This is what God desires for us. Our minds have been corrupted by sin. But through Jesus Christ redemption has been provided for us. That is true in the forgiveness of our sins, but it is also true in the redemption of our minds from sin to life, joy, and peace.
More next week!
(Don’t forget to join me for A Message From the Heart radio program Sunday evening at 8:00pm on KJAK 92.7FM, or streaming live at www.kjak.com)(curtisbaker@hotmail.com)
Write to: P.O. Box 157, Slaton, TX 79364
