Devotion:
Read Romans 12:2-3.
Many scholars say that Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome is the highest and deepest of his writing. There are a number of passages in it that go to the core of our understanding of who we are and how we are to live our lives as the people of Jesus Christ. For me, chapter twelve is one of those passages.
These two verses speak to our focus for this week: allowing the Holy Spirit who is God to change our minds so that our thinking is in line with what Jesus taught us. It is tempting to say we believe in Jesus, but continue thinking and believing as we always have about most anything. The world (specifically the culture in which any of us live) has shaped who we are and how we think. So often, we only approach what is going on in the present as where we need to be cautious about letting the world shape us. But the past has already done that.
So this emphasis on “the renewing of your mind” is directed to all of us. Yes, be wary of the ways of this world in the present, but also examine how it has already formed you. It is always a challenge to truly discern God’s will without mixing in my own will. One hint to guide us comes in verse 3: be aware of thinking you have it all figured out (“do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think…”). We need each other and we learn from each other. There may be something about which God seeks to change your mind. Are you open to that?
Personal Worship Option:
Consider being part of Bible study groups or having regular conversations with people who follow Jesus Christ but who think differently than you do about how to do that. Be willing to share how the Spirit is guiding you to think and believe and be willing to listen to how they believe the Spirit is guiding them.
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