“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2
I needed this verse today.
We live in an age that seems to be very broken. Even the church in this age seems to celebrate evil. These realizations have been weighing heavily on me.
During my decades in the church, I have heard a lot of talk about orthodoxy (right belief) and orthopraxy (right practice), but a few years ago, I was introduced to the idea of orthopathy (right passions).
Orthopathy has become a very important spiritual concept for me. Especially now, at a time when many are focused so intently on theology and ensuring that they and others have the correct beliefs, even though they seem to have hearts that are far from God’s.
In the church, it seems that many profess the importance of sound doctrine yet embrace the spiteful spirit of this age. Despite their doctrine, they have unwittingly conformed to this age.
The Biblical language for orthopathy is terminology such as God creating in us a “clean heart”, or in this verse, our being “transformed by the renewing of the mind.” The idea of orthopathy is that we develop the same passions as Christ. We need to love what Christ loves and grieve what He grieves.
Only when our passions are in line with Christ’s are we able to correctly discern His will and do what is acceptable and perfect. The word “perfect” here is telios, a Greek term meaning something that has reached its intended purpose. It is not through theology or orthodoxy that we reach Christ’s intended purpose and become spiritually mature. It is, instead, through the renewing of our minds, through orthopathy, the development of passions in line with Christ’s.
The “Theo Bro” who is eager to make theological battle but lacks grace, humility, and love has not renewed his mind. The politician who bows in prayer while passing laws that hurt God’s image bearers has not renewed her mind. The apologist who eagerly seeks the opportunity to humiliate his adversary rather than to show love to his neighbor has not renewed his mind.
Only when our passions align with God’s can we approach the telios He intends for us.
Quote to consider:
“If you want to get more out of an experience you must put more into it.”
-R.G. Collingwood
We all want easy rewards. We like quick wins with minor pain and enjoy what comes naturally to us.
This quote resonates with me, partly because, as a child and into early adulthood, I relied heavily on my natural abilities to carry me without truly investing myself. But no matter how talented one may be, there is an emptiness to doing that. One can only go so far on talent. To reach the greatest heights, it takes a combination of talent and work.
There are plenty of experiences that I regret not investing more fully in. You don’t have to put “more” into everything. There are experiences we don’t really care about getting a lot out of.
However, for me, when it comes to my artwork, my scholarship, my family, and my students, I want to put as much in as I can.
The same is true of my faith. Of course, I can’t work harder at faith to get more out of it as I could with basketball when I was younger. Still, I can’t help but think of the verse above. The more I need to put in is myself. I need to invest more of me, all of me. I need not just to allow parts of my mind to be renewed but also to allow my entire mind to be renewed. I need to apply myself so that all that I am conforms to Christ.
The hard part is that I need to do this not so that I will get more out of it, even though I will, but because I am enamored with the God who created me.
Prayer:
Lord,
Renew my mind and reshape my heart. Help me to love what You love and turn from what grieves You. Let my faith be more than belief—make it aligned with Christ through proper passions. Let me conform not to this age, but to Your perfect will.
Amen.
Image: Pamela Reynoso
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