Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Usually whenever I think about this text I reflect on who God is. I think about what I know regarding Christ and who He is, and what He has done. To think that the Creator of the Universe, who holds all power in His hands, came to this earth, and was in the "form of a bondservant" and remained "obedient to the point of death", it boggles the mind, truly. It leaves one asking, "Why?"
Well the long and short of it is because He loves us so. But to try to fathom that kind of love? there aren't enough years allotted to humanity to accomplish such a task. That being said, there is much to gain and to understand from this verse. The mind is a powerful tool. Your brain controls every function of your body both physically and emotionally. One may venture to say that true strength lies not in physical prowess, but in the fortification of the mental capacities.
There are many paths in which men seek to strengthen their mental powers, but every one falls under one of two categories: Carnal or Spiritual. And do not deceive yourself into thinking that the measure of ones intellect is a valid indication of the strength of their mind, for the individual with the highest IQ that has given himself over to the Carnal nature is but the wisest among fools.
1 Corinthians 1:20 says:
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
Only when the intellect is employed to serve and to fulfill the purposes of God is it truly counted as strength. It is for this reason that I say it is time to train your mind in the ways of righteousness. It is time to learn wisdom from that which is called foolish. It is time to find strength in that which is called weakness, freedom from that which is considered to bring bondage. The teachings of this world have fashioned us in reality, to think backwards and not forward:
- God and creation do not exist, but evolution and natural selection does.
- Faith is for the weak-minded.
- Truth is relative.
- Miracles are the things of myth and make for good story telling, but they don't exist, there's only good or bad luck (fortune.)
There has to be a transformation in the hearts of the people. The mind has to be trained to resist evil and to cherish good. This cannot be accomplished alone, but then again, we are not alone. Christ promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. He promised to give us a heart of flesh to replace the heart of stone that we have. Submission to God is required to bring about this transformation, and a dedicated effort on our part to separate ourselves from sin. We are admonished in the scriptures to guard our eyes, and our hearts from the lusts of the flesh. When the scripture talks about the "heart" it isn't speaking about the organ inside of your chest that pumps blood, but about the one inside of your skull that makes decisions. Your brain is a battlefield. Every day you face decisions that you have to make which will either build you up or break you down.
Determine within yourself that you will no longer allow your mind to be a slave to sin. Determine within yourself that you will no longer allow Satan to have his way with you. Give your mind over to the Lord. Allow Him to work a wondrous new work within you. Allow Him to transform you from glory to glory, revealing in you His character of love. Bring your mind under submission to the will of God. Elect the right and train yourself to abhor that which is evil. Learn to properly discern that which is right from that which is wrong; that which is pleasing to God from that which saddens His heart. Fortify your mind against the things of this world and learn from the Master that which is right. Come and sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of Him for His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.
<<<Boiling Point>>>
All earthly wisdom apart from God is foolishness, it is carnal. But knowledge that is united to the spiritual, that is guided by the Spirit of God, will lead to true wisdom. All that you are and all that you ever will be is based upon the decisions you have and will make. Train your mind in the way that is right so that your decisions will be right. Learn what it is to grow in grace. Learn from the Teacher that which is true knowledge. Gain wisdom from the Fountain of Wisdom. Cherish the mental powers you have been given and surrender them into the hands of our Lord. He delights in imparting wisdom and knowledge to the humble, but He brings the wisdom of the self-proclaimed wise down to the dust. With God as your guide you can be the chief among princes instead of the lead among fools. Learn from God so that you may be able to have a mind like Christ's.
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