1 Corinthians 2:10–16 ‘The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.’ (vv15–16)
We associate the mind with thought. Having been trained to think, I easily live in my head, a place I’m comfortable in. Conceptually I interpret and comprehend many things; my challenge is doing something useful with my thoughts. The mind is, ‘the part of a person that makes it possible to think, feel emotions, and understand things’. It describes how Scripture sees the heart. Understanding is not the same as knowledge, and Christian understanding is to know the mind of the Lord.
Spiritual formation is the process by which we move from being ‘feebleminded’ (1 Thess. 5:14, KJV), subject to others’ thoughts, to finding the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) and taking personal responsibility. Professional learning helps us with our skills, but to navigate life we need a complete mind change, the work of God’s Spirit (Rom. 12:2). It’s about our approach to life, for if God is all and in all (Eph. 4:4–6) then we can never comprehend the purpose of life without God.
There is a rational basis on which the Christian proposal is presented, but we can only take hold of Christian truth by faith. Philosophers and theologians will debate how the two are related forever, and we with them. Spiritual formation is based on the idea that we search for the place of faith in ordering our steps through life, answering questions life throws at us unexpectedly, often unkindly, and requires that we hold open the idea that there are things beyond our understanding that can either be dismissed or accepted by faith in God.
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: Exod. 20:1–21; Ezek. 1:25–2:2; John 10:22–32; 16:7–15.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: The challenge is always to maintain faith in the face of what appears impossible. Are you up for the challenge?
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, renew my mind so that I can discover Your “good, pleasing and perfect will”. Amen.’ (Rom. 12:2)
Image by Vicki Nunn from Pixabay
