Opened Minds (5)

So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who werewith them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” And they told about the things that had happenedon the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. Luke 24.33-35

New mind, new life
The changes that begin to occur in a person whose mind the Lord has opened are comprehensive, profound, and sometimes, immediate. Like a light switched on in a dark room, everything looks different. New possibilities appear. Realities take on new significance and meaning. Even our priorities will change.

The opening of a person’s mind, whether for the first time, unto new life in Christ, or as an initial step out of infant thinking toward a mature mind in a believer, is a work of the Lord, and inaugurates the process of making all things new.

When the Spirit of God, working with the Word through a careful teacher, breaks through past limitations and reasoning, re-orders existing mental categories, and lights a fire in people’s minds, wondrous, transforming things begin to occur, in both the inward and the outward person. A person whose mind has been opened to the truth of God embarks on a life-long course of being transformed increasingly into the image of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3.12-18).

Change of plans
Those disciples hastening back to Jerusalem – a trip of several miles, late in the day – are the picture of the new life God begins to work in those whose minds Christ has opened. Their former priorities paled into insignificance, and they experienced a change of plans for their lives. Returning to Jerusalem, they sought out the company of like-minded individuals, to encourage them in the truth of God; and they gained a new power to live sacrificial lives of loving service to others.

Let’s look more closely at each of these effects in those two disciples. First, their priorities changed dramatically, and with those priorities, their plans. They had reached their home at the end of a long day, and might have preferred simply to go to bed. Heading back to Jerusalem so late in the day was hardly convenient. Whatever they had to say or tell to anyone else could wait until the morning, couldn’t it?

Absolutely not.

Suddenly the lives of those two disciples took on a new mission and purpose. Forgetting their former priorities and manner of living, they set off again for Jerusalem, the first leg of a life-long journey of being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus Christ opens a person’s mind to the truth of God, He sheds new light into every nook and cranny of the soul. All the old values, priorities, and aspirations are challenged in the light of eternal truth. We are compelled to look at our lives through a new lens – the lens of God’s truth. From that perspective, as Paul noted, “old things pass away, all things become new” (2 Cor. 5.17). The things we previously considered to be so very important – the ways we use our time, spend our money, do our work, or relate to others – suddenly take on a new aspect; or, they are exposed as shallow and unimportant in the light of the new reality which has been opened to us. When we become aware of the people in our lives who have yet to learn the truth about Jesus, a new urgency emerges in our souls, and new plans begin to take shape in our minds.

On to maturity
The person whose mind Jesus has opened will see everything in a new light. He will begin to discover new priorities and values, and that will change everything else in his life. His mind now opened, he will desire to press on to maturity in his thinking, and in every area of his life.

If you are not being thus transformed, if you are not growing in your faith or your commitment and ministry to the Lord, if your daily plans are not changing such that you go into your world in the same way Jesus came into His, then you have every reason to wonder whether your mind has been opened to God’s truth. The Word of God, once heard and received with an open mind, begins to affect every aspect of our lives, so that our priorities, values, desires, and way of life begin to change, and continue to change throughout the course of our lives.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ makes all things new. When a person’s mind is open to the truth of Jesus Christ, an eternal horizon of possibilities begins to stretch out before him – possibilities of what he can become and what he might be able to do through Jesus Christ. Before we will become serious about persuading others of the truth that is in Jesus, we’ll need to make sure this truth is the truth that shapes our own lives. Have we truly seen the Lord? And is He at work within us, making us willing and able to do the good pleasure of God?

When our own minds are open, and as they open more and more each day, nothing will prevent us from going to encourage and persuade others of the truth of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

For reflection
1.  In what ways has Jesus been changing your thinking and your way of life? Do you find yourself, like those first disciples, embracing new priorities, and making new plans? Explain.

2.  How would you counsel a new believer to get started growing toward a mature mind in the Lord?

3.  In what ways are you seeking to grow to greater maturity in the mind of Christ at this time?

Next steps – Transformation: How does the mind of Christ in you affect the way you plan the time of your life? Talk about this question with a fellow Christian. How can you encourage one another to be better stewards of your time?

T. M. Moore

This is part 3 of a multi-part series on the Christian mind. To download this week’s study as a free PDF, click here.

How’s your Christian worldview? Are you stretching your mind to think about life and the world as Jesus does? Our free online course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview, can provide the categories, terms, and framework for you to begin nurturing a more expansive Christian mind. For more information and to register, click here.

The mind of Christ is set for the Kingdom of God. Is yours? Our book, The Kingdom Turn, provides a concise and practical overview of what it means to live for Christ from within the framework of His Kingdom. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.