A few days ago I went into the kitchen at our house and tried to open a new bag of cereal ~ a plastic pouch where you tear off the top then reseal it…I was fumbling around determined to succeed! Sally came into the kitchen, saw me struggling to get it just right, picked up the scissors ~ YES, I knew they were there on the counter beside me!, and said, “try these.” She deflated my challenge to tear it off. I took the scissors, cut a straight line in 2 seconds, the sealing part worked, I expressed disappointment at not meeting my self imposed challenge, and Sally says, “Sorry I don’t think like a man.” Obviously Sally’s brain works better than mine! The Lord wants us to renew our mind…. A new way of thinking….
In Rom. 12:1 the word “Therefore” is a hinge… based on everything up to this point, Rom. 1-11, this is how you respond: make a whole hearted commitment to the Lord. Take the hard way: renew our minds, do the will of God. The wholeness of the Christian life is not only what we believe, but also how we live, the choices we make, our attitudes towards others, peace between brothers and sisters, acceptance of one another.