LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Renewal of the Mind
"Do not conform to this century, but transform yourselves by means of the renewal of your understanding, so that you may verify what is the good will of God, acceptable and perfect... As for the past way of life, get rid of the old man, which is corrupted according to deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind" (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:22-23).
The mind is the main part of the soul, and many things depend on it in the spiritual life of the believer. A mind conformed to the world will bring with it many problems; instead, a renewed mind will allow the necessary transformation of the soul, until it becomes an effective vehicle for the work of God.
The mind has the upper hand in all things that concern our Christian walk. And because the mind has its old ways traveled so many times when we still did not know God, in the new life it is necessary that they be changed, that the mind be renewed. We could have a new life in our heart and an old mind in our soul. Such a thing is perfectly possible, and unfortunate.
God's ways are high, and are beyond the reach of our earthly mind; it is necessary to be renewed in mind to know them. God's ways are also spiritual, and cannot be known by carnal minds.
The Bible says that God showed Israel his works, but Moses his ways. To see the works of God does not require any special faculty, instead to know the ways of God requires a renewed mind, an intimacy with God.
Knowing and following God's will requires a constant renewal of the mind, because we can easily get stuck in the past, revolving around previous experiences. That is why Paul says, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal" (Phil. 3:13-14).
There is the natural tendency to fix the ideas, the thoughts, the answers for everything. There are Christians who go around in circles for more than forty years, until they fall exhausted in the desert. But the perfect will of God waits to be known by those who have renewed their mind.
How do we renew our mind? With the word of God. She opens channels, through the actions of God in the past, for the new actions of God. God operates in us —and in the visible world— by means of his Word. He created all things through the Word, and also sustains them through it.
The word of God is creative, and renewing. The word of God is alive, and it communicates to us the life of God, the current thoughts of God regarding all things. The word of God breaks our routines, our prejudices, our old ways of thinking. The word of God blows divine airs into our mind.