A Beautiful Mind
by Peter Brokaar
The human mind is a beautiful thing, complex beyond understanding and intricate beyond imagination. The mind, a part of our soul, is a gift from God to each of us, created to be used as an instrument for His glory. Yet a wrong approach to our mental capacity can hinder this aspect of our service to Him.
On one extreme we can attribute too much authority to the human intellect and overestimate its powers. Thomas of Aquinas (1225 – 1274), a great admirer of Greek philosopher Aristotle, taught that the mind was not fallen (he incorrectly believed only the will was affected by the fall). Ever since, the outworking of this train of thought can traced through Church history. Sometimes human intellectual understanding has been placed above the authority of the Word of God, with disastrous consequences. But our little minds, when compared to God’s boundless wisdom, are only infinitesimal. Has He not said ‘my thoughts are higher than yours’ (Isaiah 55:8)? Did He not set Job in his place after he dared to challenge the wisdom of the Almighty (Job 38-41)? Yet many have rejected God’s wisdom in favour of man`s limited understanding and thus missed out on His blessing.
On the other side, many believers seem to ignore the responsibility to serve the LORD their God will all their mind as He has commanded us. Sometimes the people of God can try to be so ‘super spiritual’ that they deny their humanity! As it is, He has given us minds and He expects us to use them! The Lord wants us to use all of our gifts and talents for His glory, this includes the mind. As with any part of our being, it needs to be exercised, nurtured, fed, grown and developed to be strong and healthy. Additionally, our minds may be in need of God’s healing!
As we endeavour to present ourselves as servant of God I want to encourage us all to consider our ways and take a look at the attitude we have had in regard to this. Have we perhaps relied too much on our mental faculties, or even made an idol out of our intellect? Or, on the other hand, have we failed to serve God with our all of our mind and not pursued the wholesome intellectual growth (which includes cleansing and healing) He intended? His will is that we use our minds in submission to His Word and under the direction of His Holy Spirit. May today be a new day where we bring Him joy by surrendering and presenting ourselves to our Lord and Saviour in a new way.
Prayer: Dear Father God, I thank You for creating me the way You did and for giving me a wonderful mind. Help me to serve You with my mind in the way You intended. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Peter Brokaar is Director of Ellel Ministries Scotland and has been there together with his wife Liz since 2005. They have 3 kids, all born in Scotland! In his free time he likes reading, cooking, running and surfing. Being at Ellel Scotland has given him the privilege of getting to know God deeper and sharing that joy with many others.
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