December 16 – Disciplines of the Mind: Love (Romans 13:8-10)

“Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”(Romans 13:10)

IN WORD:
Retraining the mind requires extraordinary focus at first. Not only must we learn not to think in all of those negative patterns of thinking, holding on to bitterness, fear, regrets, and our weaknesses as we do. We must also embrace the character of God: His faithfulness, His power and might, His grace and mercy, His love. Just as redirecting a river from its centuries-old path is a monumental task of engineering, so is redirecting those streams of thought that have long flooded our souls. We cannot do it without God’s Spirit. Only He has the power. And every power He exerts in us will eventually lead to one thing: love.
In the past, our streams of thought have always carved valleys that pointed in the direction of self. Even our seemingly selfless acts are often done for selfish purposes. That has to change. The natural mind has no God-centeredness in it, and the renewed mind that the Spirit forms in us has nothing else. This is more than a slight re-arrangement of water flow; it is a radical reversal. The landscape of our minds must be tilted in an entirely different direction. All anger, bitterness, competition, jealousy, and selfishness are foreign to the heart of God, and if He has given us His heart, they are foreign to us as well.
How can we take every thought captive to Christ? We must learn to recognize selfish thinking. Whenever we find it hard to applaud another’s talent, encourage another’s spiritual gift, or give for another’s welfare, we must be acutely aware of it. Whenever we hold on to envy, competitiveness, or a distaste for another’s personality, we must be grieved. That does not mean we must instinctively like everything and everyone. It does mean we must treat everyone as a priceless child of God — or at least a potential priceless child of God.

IN DEED:
Selfless love goes against our sinful nature. But so does God’s Spirit. Living in His Spirit and His love requires a conscious discipline of thinking. If we live for Him, we live for His people.

“Love is the only spiritual power that can overcome the self-centeredness that is inherent in being alive.”
-Arnold J. Toynbee-