Taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10.5)

Disciplines
Reading
If you’ve ever had the opportunity of driving south on the Florida Turnpike from Lake Okeechobee to Miami, you will have observed a most curious phenomenon.

The trees that line that highway bend gently westward, toward the Everglades. All the trees, on both sides of the road.

Now a curious observer might wonder about why this should be. Was it that a hurricane blew in from the Atlantic, and bent those trees so that they lean irreparably westward?

No, what actually happens is that, from the moment those trees emerged from the ground, they were intercepted by a constant and gentle sea breeze, wafting in warm from the Atlantic, and blowing continuously toward the Everglades, where it stacks up into majestic thunderheads. That unremitting, gentle breeze catches those trees and bends them continuously, albeit imperceptibly, so their intended shape is compromised, little by little, from early on in their lives.

Something like that is happening in our own day.

We, all of us, are subjected to a media breeze – gentle, welcome because informative and entertaining, often imperceptible, but constant and focused – that catches us as children, swirls around us all our days, and works relentlessly to form us into the shape of the spirit of the age. This steady media breeze comes at us through the trade winds of education, pop culture, news, advertising, the Internet, political speech, and everyday conversation; and it works to bend us from our proper line of growth toward the light of the Son, so that we conform – often unknowingly – to what Francis Schaeffer referred to as “the spirit of the naturalism of the age.”

Unless we learn to recognize and resist this steady, subtle, and seductive Zephyr, we will become someone other than who we were created to be, and will miss the glorious benefits, privileges, and power of living within the Kingdom worldview of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Strangely enough, the antidote to this misinformation is not no information, but more and betterinformation.

In Mark 4.24 we read, “Then He said to them, ‘Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.’"

Jesus calls us to be selective about what we hear. In this passage He is responding to the disciples’ request for understanding into His parables. His response is, on the one hand, a kind of commendation of their query. Beyond that, however, it is a recommendation concerning whatever we might allow into our thinking, whether by hearing, seeing, or reading. We must be careful to read, listen, and view things critically and analytically. We must not accept everything at face value, but we must sift everything through the filter of the mystery of the Kingdom, which has been given to us (Mk. 4.11).

The Kingdom of God, and Christ as King, is the framework for all true knowing, for the Kingdom is the key to the mind of Christ. As we learn to think in Kingdom terms, we will reason according to the eternal mysteries of God in Christ. We will think, that is, with the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2.16). If we thus take heed concerning whatever we hear, see, or read, we can seek an ever-greater measure of understanding into all things, and expect that the Lord will measure out our understanding to the extent that we seek it according to the disciplines of the Kingdom.

I take this as powerful encouragement to learn the ways of the Kingdom, and thus to increase in the mind of Christ, and to seek understanding of as much as I can and need in order to fulfill my calling from the Lord. Beginning with daily time in the Word of God, we must read and hear the Kingdom, and from our Kingdom vantage point, resist the subtle efforts of our secular age to bend us into its own image.

The media breeze that swirls around and seeks to bend us daily shows no signs of abating. We need to be clear about the times in which we live, and to read widely, critically, and from our Kingdom perspective, so that we will know what we must do inthis narcissistic and secular age to seek and advance the rule of King Jesus (1 Chron. 12.32).

Who knows? We may even be able to mount a Gospel counter-breeze that could begin to turn things upright and whole.

For reflection
1.  How many different ways does the “spirit of the naturalism of the age” blow against and swirl around you each day?

2.  What do you think it means to hear, see, and read with the mind of Christ?

3.  The information we need to withstand the winds of secularism begins in the Word of God. Is your time in Scripture sufficient to equip you for continuous growth in the Kingdom of God?

Next steps: Share this image of the media breeze with a Christian friend. How does your friend prepare to “weather” this challenge each day?

We depend on the Lord for the needs of The Fellowship of Ailbe. This means we come to Him daily, asking for His help in giving us wisdom to know His will, strength and skill to do it, and the resources we require for each day. As for this last, we understand that God intends to support our ministry from within the ranks of those who are served by it (Ps. 20.1-3; Rom. 15.26, 27; Gal. 6.6).

If this ministry is important to you, we ask you please prayerfully to consider becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.