I recently listened to an interview with Dr. Carolyn Leaf (a communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist) in which she spoke about the importance of our mindset.
One particular quote riveted my attention. She stated, “As you think, feel and choose, your brain changes in response to your mind.”
In my last blog post I touched upon the human mindset and its governing how we view God and how we view ourselves – ultimately our identity.
The vastly far reaching implications of recognizing and understanding the difference between our brain and our mind are infinite!
As we ponder this subtle but enormously powerful distinction, let’s further explore the mindsets of son and orphan.
As a backdrop / brief recap of our blogging journey so far ….. God is Love. He desires to share His Love. He created an arena (the earth) for His chosen creation (that’s us). He established the order of that relationship as Father with His children. This mindset is one of Fatherhood & family.
When Adam and Eve chose independence instead of obedience the eyes of their soul were opened. A new mindset emerged – the orphan mindset. An orphan is preoccupied with two prerogatives that subsequently drive the decision making process. These two prerogatives are 1) provision and 2) protection.
An orphan’s belief is that one’s survival is dependent upon one’s own efforts. This distorted mindset fits precisely within the systems and schemes woven into world culture when Satan and his ranks rebelled and were removed from the presence of God.
Satan – and those angels that rebelled with him – understands how the human soul functions as well as how to appeal to the soul’s perceived needs. His goal is to entrap the human in self-sufficiency. (2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 6:11) The enemy accomplishes this with systems / schemes that offer resources through which mankind believes he can satisfy his need to provide for himself and protect himself.
In Matthew chapter 4:8-10, Jesus is in the midst of His wilderness temptation:
“The devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”
“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ ”
What “kingdoms of the world,” is Satan referring to? These kingdoms are not geographical. The kingdoms Satan offered Jesus are the world systems and schemes with which he wages war against humanity.
In John chapter 14:30, Jesus is sharing His heart with the disciples a few hours before His betrayal and arrest:
“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”
Jesus refers to Satan as the “ruler of this world.”
In John 8:38-45, Jesus is in dialogue with the Pharisees (a group of religious leaders in that day). They are questioning Him regarding His identity. The framework of this discussion is predicated upon fatherhood:
“I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
“Abraham is our father,” they replied.
“If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. You are doing the works of your father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they declared. “Our only Father is God Himself.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.
Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!”
So, we have God the Father and His beloved Son, Jesus. He is the creator of the heavens and the earth. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” (Psalm 24:1; 1 Corinthians 10:26) And John 3:16 declares, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
In contrast, we have the “ruler of this world,” named by Jesus; and “kingdoms of the world” that Satan referenced. Jesus further describes Satan as “the father of lies.”
Scripture describes this “world” in 1 John 2:15-17, where the disciple John encourages believers to “not love the world or anything in the world.”
John delineates the things in the world as “the gratification of our flesh, the allurement of the things of the world, and the obsession with status and importance– none of these things come from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:16, The Passion Translation) He further exhorts them to not be entangled in these schemes because “If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.”
The enemy’s intent with the world “kingdoms” is to render the human unable to respond to the Spirit of God. He accomplishes this by providing an alternative to trusting God. These schemes encourage the soul to live in a state that is independent from submitting to God.
So, what is the solution?
Our heavenly Father understood the myriad of consequences to Adam and Eve’s disobedience, including the orphan mindset. From before the foundation of creation, He already had the solution.
In His infinite Goodness, He made the Way for our reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19) Through this reconciliation, He established us as a new creation and restored our relationship with Him as His children.
Now reconciled to the original intent of relationship, we can walk with our Heavenly Father, “renewing our mind.” (Romans 12:2)
We can “work out our salvation” (Philippians 2:12) . . . “Having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10) that He lives in us.
As believers in Jesus, this is what it is to “grow up” in Christ. It is God’s relentless pursuit to renew our minds regarding our identity as His children and Him as our Heavenly Father: The mindset of Fatherhood and family.
Next time we will explore in depth how we abide in the “son” mindset instead of the orphan mindset through reconciliation, maturation & the role of suffering.
