January 22nd - Reflection

Reading
Romans 12:1-8 (NRSV)
One body in Christ

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God -- what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Reflection
Renew---make my mind new again. Born into sin, my mind takes on the ways of sin. As I grow, sin becomes real to me and I become sin. But here in this passage, I am reminded, that through Christ, my mind will be made new again. My mind will be filled with the thoughts of Christ. My mind will be filled with a different understanding. No longer does sin have control of my mind, but Christ has control of my mind. My mind is made new again through Christ. While on this earth there is a battle that rages on in my mind. There is the battle with sin and my mind tells me to sin. But there is also the assurance that Christ has brought, in His coming to this world, that my mind can be made new through him. Some day as my mind changes from that old terrible mind of sin, Christ's loving and gracious action of salvation will completely overtake my mind and all I do and say will be in one accord. But for now, I battle with my old mind and the mind that is being made new. What a wonderful change! Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, take my mind, take my body, take my soul and change it into what You would have it be. ---Amen