The Vanishing Mind

Across the years of my pastoral ministry ... I have noted two regrettable "vanishings." I am reminded of the first every time I look in the mirror or see myself in a photo. The hair that once totally covered my head has been vanishing for some 25 years or so. I have resigned myself to my hair loss ... and in fact, enjoy the low maintenance hair style that I now sport (my remaining hair is dry as soon as I turn the shower off!). No "bad hair days" for me!

The second "vanishing" concerns me much more. It is the vanishing of the mind. Increasingly people in our culture are disengaging their minds - and this includes the majority of people who attend what we would call "evangelical" churches. People no longer discuss what they "think" about life. Instead, people talk about how they "feel" about things. Now I am not opposed to emotions ... and engaging them in the various arenas of life. But it is troubling to see how the emotions are given such high prominence in the decision making process that we undergo each day.

For this reason, I was thrilled to see John Piper's new book (just came out on September 15th). The title is Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God. In the book's introduction, Piper talks about the fact that the ultimate goal of our lives must be to glorify God (and Scripture most emphatically makes that point!). Piper then goes on to say the following:

"The way we glorify him is by knowing him truly, by treasuring him above all things, and by living in a way that shows he is our supreme treasure (see Philippians 1:20-21; Philippians 1:23; Philippians 3:8). Therefore, the main reason God has given us minds is that we might seek out and find all the reasons that exist for treasuring him in all things and above all things. The more we see of his surpassing greatness and knowledge and wisdom and power and justice and wrath and mercy and patience and goodness and grace and love, the more we will treasure him. And the more we treasure him, the more he is consciously and joyfully glorified. The point of this book is that THINKING is a God-given means to that end."

I am looking forward to reading Piper's book. I, for one, want to discover more reasons for treasuring God above all else!

Thanks for stopping by. . .

pj