Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. –1 Peter 1:13-14
It was a gorgeous day and I was sitting on a pontoon boat on Bass Lake. There were three adults and about seven fifth-graders enjoying the afternoon. The pontoon boat we were on had a second-story deck that was providing most of the afternoon’s entertainment. The boys were trying all sorts of different dives and tricks off the top into the water below, leaving us laughing and cheering with every jump.
One of the kids decided to try a belly-flop. Now, before you wince thinking about the pain that would cause, let me explain: He wanted to see if it would hurt to do a belly-flop if he put on two life jackets, one as it should be worn covering his stomach and back and the other situated as a diaper. He suited up and headed to the top. He didn’t hesitate, leaping from the top, hitting the water at a perfect belly-flop angle. The moment he surfaced, someone screamed, “Does your belly hurt?” “Not at all!” he yelled back in reply.
I love how this little guy thought carefully through what he was about to do and prepared fully to be able to accomplish his task without getting hurt. In our own life situations, I believe the Lord wants that for each of us as well. The verse above gives us the hint on how to get through this life as unscathed as possible. Prepare. This seems to be a key word and theme throughout the Bible.
Nowhere do you see in Jesus’ life or His teachings that we are to run headfirst into life or anything without first praying, thinking through and preparing for what lies ahead. In Ephesians, Paul even takes his readers through the armor of God and likens this preparation as to a battleground. No warrior would enter battle without his armor on and so no Christian should go through this life without preparing his or her mind for action. When we are not prepared and remain ignorant, it becomes too easy to get hurt and conform to ways of old.
GOING DEEPER:
1. What ways are you preparing your mind each day to make the right decisions and live the life Jesus wants for you?
2. Why is it important to prepare your mind each day and to be ready for what comes at you? What potentially can happen when you do not prepare?
FURTHER READING:
Matthew 6:19-21; Ephesians 6:10-19; 1 Peter 3:14-16