As Christians we should all hunger and thirst for a closer walk with Jesus. As I was re-reading some quotes from the well-known late British evangelist and pastor, Alan Redpath, one quote in particular really got me to thinking about some of the keys to walking closer with our Lord. According to Redpath: “The condition of an enlightened mind is a surrendered heart.”1 This simple quote, I believe, is essential if we want to travel on the road to a deeper walk with Christ.
In order to know Jesus better we need an enlightened and transformed mind. I love how the Apostle Paul talks about the importance of a transformed mind: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2). Notice that an enlightened mind is a transformed mind and we get this by renewing our minds daily. And in order to do this we need to jettison all worldly desires that are contrary to the will of God.
Some of the ways we can do this is to sacrifice our cravings for worldly desires and replace them with spending time in reading the Scriptures, developing a disciplined prayer life, fellowshipping with other believers, and loving and serving others. These new activities when practiced daily will slowly revolutionize and rewire our minds to think Christlike thoughts.
But here is one more step that we must take to keep our minds focused on doing the will of the Lord and this concerns the state of our hearts. According to Redpath in order to have an enlightened mind we must have a surrendered heart! Or as Paul implores us in (Romans 12:1) we need to offer our bodies (or heart) as a living sacrifice to God. When we surrender our heart to Christ, I believe, we can take on the mind of Christ and have both our mind and heart act in unison; taking on a whole new way of living, by doing everything we undertake to the glory of God.
For you see a surrendered heart leads to an enlightened mind, and an enlightened mind allows us to experience true peace, joy, and meaning as we carry out the transformative advice of the Apostle Paul: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Contrary to the world, which often views the idea of surrender as defeat, when we surrender our hearts totally to Jesus we become captive to Him and as a result, this captivity leads to true freedom and joyful victory in every area of our lives, as well as more intimacy with Jesus.
My friends, if you want more of Christ in your life, then surrender your heart totally to Him, and watch how He will enlighten your mind and surround you with opportunities to use your time, talents, and treasury to advance His kingdom. And as a result, God will fill your heart to overflowing with the awesome joy of knowing that you are being used to bring glory to the name of the Lord!