A Change of
Mind
2 Timothy 1:1-12
"... your sincere faith, which
first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice ..."
(v. 5)
Yesterday we said that there are two types of entry into the
Christian life -- sudden and gradual. Paul the apostle had one of
the most sudden and dramatic conversions in Christian history, yet
Paul's disciple Timothy does not seem to have had a similar
experience. We cannot tell for sure, but Timothy's coming to faith,
a process apparently greatly influenced by his grandmother and
mother, seems to have been much more prolonged. We said also (and
some may have found this surprising) that without a clear
understanding of repentance, and all that it entails, there can be
no successful continuance in the Christian life. So what is
repentance and why is it vitally important?
The Greek word for repentance, metanoia, means "a change of mind."
But a change of mind about what? About where life is found. Prior
to coming to Christ our minds are shot through with the idea that
life depends on such things as self-sufficiency, self-management,
and ego-building.
The Bible confronts this self-centered approach to living and says
that for our lives to work the way God designed them, the ego must
be marginal and not central. In other words, Christ must be
central, and the ego revolves around Him just as the planets
revolve around the sun. This is quite a radical thought for any
mind to grapple with, but be sure of this -- if there is no
acceptance of it, the soul will not go on to experience a deep and
developing relationship with God. No change of mind about where
life is to be found -- no spiritual progress. It is as simple as
that.
For Further Study
Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:6; Col. 2:1-20
1. In what graphic way did Paul describe repentance?
2. What concern did Paul have for the Colossians?