“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Phil 4: 8). The heart and the mind are two vital organs of the body that control a person’s life. The heart is the seat of a person’s emotions, and the mind is the centre for reasoning. If the heart is rooted in sin, evil thoughts come out of the mind, and wickedness becomes rampant. That was the case before the floods took place in the days of Noah. As it is written, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intentof the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 6:5)
And in the case of people even now, “They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.” (Rom 3:12). None does good because of the evil treasure in the heart (Matt 12:35). Yes, all have sinned and come short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23). To fix the problem of the heart and mind, God sent His Son Jesus to earth to sacrifice His life to redeem humanity. Those who repent of their sin and confess Jesus as their Saviour and Lord become God’s children and receive His Spirit into their hearts (Gal 4:6). The Spirit pours God’s love into their hearts (Rom 5:5) to replace the wickedness emanating from sin with good radiating from righteousness. A righteous heart renews the mind to transform the life of a person (Rom 12:2). A renewed mind becomes the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16); it stays on God as it is true in Him and is kept in perfect peace (Is 26:3), and is set on things above and not on things on earth (Col 3:2). This mind is what can think of things that are; true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, commendable and excellent — all virtues that belong to Jesus. Without the mind of Christ, none can live the Christian life, so allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in your hearts, and He shall give you the mind of Christ.
