Bathing our Minds in Him

 

 

In The Silver Chair, Aslan tells Jill, “Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind….and pay no attention to appearances.” (Page 560).

 

As I write this I am reminded of Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 4:18 that we do not look at the things that are seen but rather at the unseen, and then of Hebrews 12:25 – 29 in which we are told that God will shake all things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

 

While there is shaking all around us, the glorious reality for those in Christ is that we are receiving “a kingdom which cannot be shaken” and that because of this we ought to show “gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:18 – 29).

 

We ought not to be like puppies chasing their tails as we run after purveyors of prophetic entertainment, purporting to interpret the headlines the way ancient religious types interpreted the present and discerned the future by reading the entrails of animals to hold the attention and allegiance and patronage of both the elite and the masses. These things do not wed our hearts to Jesus Christ, they do not call us to lay down our lives for Him and others – they do not stabilize us in Him with His peace and wisdom, they do not ground us in Him and with one another. They do not call us into a mature reading and experience of the Word of God in Christ Jesus. (I write as someone who has been there and done that.)

 

It is bad enough when confusion reigns throughout the world, it is more troubling when it reigns within the professing church. Confusion is disorienting, and just as Jill would be disoriented by the heavy atmosphere of Narnia, so we are easily disoriented by the heavy atmosphere of our present age. Just as Jill would forget the Word that Aslan gave her, we tend to forget the Word that Jesus gives us – and so we must continually bath our minds in Him and His Word, meditating on His Word both day and night (Psalm 1) and presenting ourselves as offerings to God (Rom. 12:1 – 2), not being conformed to the present age, but being transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. O dear friends, we need the Bible more than we need the headlines and commentators and the latest financial news.

 

A few days ago, as I sensed myself being pulled into the atmosphere of confusion, I went to the clean, clear, and pure air of Ephesians Chapter One. I knew that I needed a trip to the Mountain, I knew I needed to breathe the air of the “eternals” and to bathe my mind in Christ.

 

And so in verse 3 I was reminded that I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. In verse 4 I saw that the Father chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world so that we would be holy and blameless.

 

I was reminded in verses 5 and 6 that we are predestined to be His sons and daughters to His praise and glory.

 

In verses 7 and 8 I saw the greatness of our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us.

 

Then in verses 9 – 11 I was encouraged by the vision that life is all about Jesus Christ and about us being in Him, and that we have an eternal destiny which our Father is working out through His Son and in and through us – to His glory.

 

O friends, when we look at the world around us, let us see not the foolishness of political movements and nations and economic engines and entertainment idiocy, let us see our need of a Savior and Redeemer, let us see the suffering around us – the suffering in our communities, in our cities, in our countryside, at our borders, beyond our borders – for make no mistake, we will be held accountable for whether we fed the hungry, clothed the naked, housed the homeless, visited the prisoners (Matthew 25:31 – 46).

 

I cannot do everything, nor can you, but we can all do something.

 

In Ephesians we begin in the heavenlies in Chapter One, so that we may walk the walk on earth in chapters 4- 6. “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1).

 

Let us bathe our minds in Christ, remembering Paul’s words:

 

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:15 – 17).