What Is on Your Mind?

“So the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? Is it not so, that if you have good things in mind, you can lift up your face? But if you do not have good things in mind, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.’” [Norw.]

Here we can see the importance of what we fill our minds with. If we have good things in mind, we are spared many a temptation to all kinds of sin. But if we do not have good things in mind, then we have no boldness in God either. Nevertheless, God has a message for you, a glorious hope, namely that you should rule over sin.

Peter writes about the glorious promises we have received through the knowledge of Jesus. The promises are that we can partake of divine nature by fleeing the corruption that is in the world through lust. Then he continues to exhort us to give all diligence to add virtue to our faith. If we do that, we show that we are active and fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. It will be as with Israel, who forgot their slavery in Egypt and wanted to go back to the fleshpots, the leeks and the onions. They had forgotten how they had dreaded the bondage. They only remembered the enjoyment they had.

Such is the case with those who are not occupied with adding the virtues to their faith. When they hear about denying themselves and taking up their cross, they feel it is bondage, because they do not remember the need they were in when they lived in sin.

The exhortation is: Flee the corruption in the world! Flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart! 2 Tim. 2:22 and several other scriptures. If we follow these exhortations, we will avoid many tribulations and troubles, and we will grow up to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Eph. 4:12-13.