Renewing Your Mind

Butterflies are amazing to me. Think about it . . . a creepy, crawly, gross worm with legs crawls up in a sleeping bag and emerges as a beautiful, colorful, flapping butterfly. It’s been transformed literally from one creature to another! Before the cocoon, it’s a caterpillar; afterwards, it’s a butterfly. It’s not just a change by degree; it’s a whole change in category.   

Scripture describes our salvation in a similar way. We are one person before placing our faith in Jesus Christ, and afterwards we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). We haven’t just improved on ourselves, we have become a whole new self!   

But now imagine with me that this beautiful butterfly—like the one in the picture above—comes out of the cocoon and, instead of flying away, slowly creeps and crawls its way back down the branch to the trunk and slowly down to the ground. Rather than flapping its wings and flying through the air to take in the sights of the world below, it shudders at the height of the grass and the distance to the next place of safety. It still thinks it’s a caterpillar!  

This is the condition that Romans 12:1-2 addresses. Even though we’ve been transformed into a new creature with a new purpose, we abandon our new identity and conform to our old ways. God’s power hasn’t failed. You don’t need to re-crucify Christ in your life; you simply need to renew your mind. 

There are a couple of old sayings you’ve probably heard: “garbage in, garbage out” and “open minds are good, so is an open window, but we still put a screen on to keep the bugs out!” 

If you want to renew your mind, consider what is going into it. Your mind will naturally conform to whatever is going in. While God has not called us to withdraw from this world, we are called to guard our hearts and minds taking even every thought into account. While there is nothing wrong with secular music or many TV shows and movies, consider going on a spiritual fast of sorts. For a time, consider limiting the messages you take in through a variety of mediums to biblical, mind-renewing messages. 

However, we don’t just want to limit bad messages entering our mind; we want to replace them with God-honoring messages. This devotion is one way of renewing your mind, but it isn’t enough. Reading a few verses, a short devotional, and praying for a few minutes won’t offset the garbage that is constantly bombarding us. Consider how you can take “mini retreats” throughout your day when you can meet with God and renew your mind. 

Pray and Journal—Take a few minutes now to ask God to reveal where you are conforming to this world and ask Him to renew your mind. Reflect and make a plan for how and when you can withdraw and meet with God throughout the day.