The Call to Holy Living: A Prepared Mind - 1 Peter 1:13-16
One of the challenging aspects in the believer’s life is the call to “Holy Living”. It is one of those commands where we find great difficulty and not without resistance. And it is due to the fact that we are still in this sinful human flesh, living in this broken world.
Is it really possible then to live a holy life, or to be holy in this present time and age; when a child of God is surrounded by worldly influence which pulls him to do the exact opposite?
One of the interesting things that Peter suggests is the preparation of the mind. For the reason that, everything starts in the human mind. It is a battlefield. It is the area where Satan attacked when he tempted Eve in the garden. He begins to cast doubts on the mind of Eve regarding God’s direct and explicit command. He made God a liar. And it is for this reason that present day believers should be cautious with a mind ready for such attack.
God’s word encourages the believers of several truths in the preparation of the mind:
- Set your mind on Eternal things. This is what the Apostle Paul said in Colossians 3:1-4…“to set our minds on things above and not on things on this earth”…
- Set your mind on excellent things is another truth found in Philippians 4:8-9, where the writer reminded the believers to think on things that exalt the character of God.
- Having a renewed mind (Romans 12:1-2) is a mind saturated with the word of God. It is the Holy Spirit’s work who makes a change in our way of thinking, as the believer mind is filled with the truth of God’s word.
- Having the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-11)doesn’t only refer to His humility pointing to the direction of the cross, but it also reminds us of His total submission to the Father’s will throughout His earthly ministry.
Fellow believers, by God’s grace, may we have a prepared mind in order to live holy before Him.