…about thinking and sanctification
I am not sure if the way my brain works is normal to most people or an aberration. It - my mind, as the rational, logical, reasoning part of me - rarely even slows down much less stops. Even during sleep! I dream a lot. Sometimes the dreams are rational and sometimes they are fantastical. I remember waking up from anesthesia after a procedure and the doctors asked why I was laughing. I had had a dream about a friend and in the dream she was a comedian. Whether everyone’s mind works like mine or not, everyone does think! Lately I have been thinking quite a bit about sanctification - what it is and what it looks like in the life of a believing disciple.
In the Bible the heart and mind are often used interchangeably. Of course, we have the physical heart and brain. Both keep our bodies going. But when used in a metaphysical way, they are the seat of the intellect, emotions and the will. It is our thinking, emotions and wills that need to change. And that change is called sanctification.
Sanctification is the one part of our salvation in which we actually participate. During this life, we will never grow beyond the conflict with temptation. Satan does not want any Christian to reach the full potential that God has prepared for them (see Ephesians 4:14-16). He uses many tactics to derail us. He may whisper as he did to Eve, “Did God really say?” Or he may use people to sow doubt, discord, slander and anger. And then we also have to contend with our own lusts. I think my own sinful desires are my worst enemies and the hardest to defeat.
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16 NIV). That is sanctification. Living a life of ever ongoing growth into Christ-likeness is not “let go and let God” - it is getting up every morning and putting one foot in front of the other. Like it or not, when we surrendered to Jesus Christ, our minds and hearts became a battlefield! We are to be constantly fighting against the sin in our own lives; ever moving toward ultimate Christ-likeness. Life has direction and purpose. Each person is responsible to walk and follow after Christ for themselves.
In a discussion about election a person said that if we tell people that the only people to get saved will be those who were chosen before the foundation of the earth, no one would ever get saved. I agree. However, only those who are chosen will ever want to be saved! My thought is - if we tell people that they will have constant battle for the rest of their lives, will they still want to be saved? Jesus said to count the cost. And when you do the math, the reward far outweighs the cost (2 Corinthians 4:17). And one last thought - is it that constant battle that causes us too long for home?