Monday, February 5, 2018

NUMBER ONE THOUSAND-RENEWING THE MIND




BY STEVE DUNN

This is a milestone blog.  It is the one thousandth time I have posted as LIFE MATTERS.  March 3, 2009 was the first offering and spoke of the perception that many persons possess that Christians have closed minds.  I hope if you have been reading this blog for any period of time that you have come to the realization that at least one Christian has an open mind.

Now if you think being open-minded means that you think everyone’s opinion is correct or that you should never challenge someone’s ignorance, narrow-mindedness, or prejudices … I do not fit that definition of open-mindedness.  As one humorist once wrote, “Some people’s minds are so open that their brains are in danger of falling out.”

As a Christian, I adhere to the belief that it is not my job to persuade people to my understanding. Particularly, as it relates to Truth, persuasion is God’s job not mine. As Ravi Zacharias, Christian apologist, has said about the most important truth there is—that we belong to God. “My job is not to persuade people to agree with me. My job is to simply get them to open their minds. The Holy Spirit does the persuading.”

There is clearly a way of looking at the world that believes God’s truth is unimportant, optional, or even wrong.  That way of thinking I believe leads us to be persons who are handicapped in our daily living.  It is sort of like walking through a pitch-black room without knowing where the furniture is. Our ignorance is going to get us into trouble.  And if there is an open trap door in the floor, crossing that room can prove fatal.

God’s truth applies to every aspect of our lives—business, political, relational and more.  Ignoring God’s truth is a dangerous and faulty choice.  Paul the apostle of God once wrote: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2

It is my hope and prayer as I move into the next 1000 posts that I can help the process of renewing our mind.





No comments:

Post a Comment