Look At What Is Before Your
Eyes
I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of
Christ – I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I
am away! – I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose
those who think we are acting according to human standards. Indeed, we live as
human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the
weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to
destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every
thought captive to obey Christ. We are ready to punish disobedience when your
obedience is complete.
Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you
belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ,
so also do we. Now, even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which
the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be
ashamed of it. I do not want to seem as though I am trying to frighten you with
my letters. For they say, “His letters
are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech
contemptible.” Let such people understand that what we say by letter when
absent, we will also do when present.
2 Corinthians 10:1-11
We can be devout Christians and independent thinkers. Some would
look at us as unenlightened, but that is not the case. John Adams was a case in
point.
One of the greatest benefits of salvation is that it causes the
believer’s mind to be guarded by the peace of God, which can foster clear
thinking, discernment, and wisdom.
To sift through an argument wisely, to embrace the clarity of the
knowledge of God, and to align our thinking with the mind
of Christ are valuable skills when living in a world lacking in discernment.
These skills enable us to use our minds to represent Christ. Every Christian
should be a thinking Christian.
Our Daily Bread –