By Kimberly Davidson
When school was let out for the day, either Mom or our babysitter, Annie, would meet my brother (age 7) and me (age 10) by the school playground. We’d go on to do something fun for a couple hours, like go to the park or a museum. On one particular day, Annie announced, “We’re going straight home. Sorry, no fun stops today.” Shocked, I asked why. She wouldn’t give me an answer.
The next day she proclaimed the same thing, “We’re going home.”
“What! Two days in a row? Not fair. Why?” I cried. I still got no explanation. All she said was we weren’t being punished, which surprised me.
“You can play in the yard.” Well, that’s a real treat. Our yard is the size of a postage stamp!
The same thing happened the next day…and the next. I got really mad. “None of my other friends have to go home after school!” You are cruel and mean. I’m being punished!
This went on for almost two weeks. I was on the verge of a tantrum and Annie sensed it. She broke her code of silence. “I didn’t want to tell you this because I didn’t want to scare you. But you’re being such a brat, I have no choice.”
Scare me? What’s going to come out next?
“They found a young girl’s naked body in a dumpster behind the library (which was two blocks away). They think it’s connected to the other two neighborhood murders. Now do you understand why we’re coming straight home? It’s for our protection.”
Then I understood. My crabapple attitude disappeared immediately. I was frightened but now I wanted details. “How old was she? When and how was she abducted? Did she know the murderer? Tell me! Tell me!” The more I could learn about this awful incident, the more I might avoid the same kind of horrible death.
Knowledge changes everything!
If you understand something, you can begin to control it instead of letting it control you. A wise woman once said, “I am never afraid of what I know.”
Proverbs 2:10 says, “Wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” The reason we have conflict is lack of information and indifference. “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). The apostle Paul said, “Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:10). God wants to re-make us into the image of his Son! How does that renewal come about? Through knowledge.
If your mind was a movie screen for everyone to view, what would they see? Would your screenplay be rated G, R, or NC-17?
We are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). This involves our personality, intellect, emotion, will, and our spirituality. When man first sinned, this image was ruined, but through the work of Jesus Christ we can be transformed into God’s image again! This doesn’t mean we become God, but as his creation we can mirror his image. First, we must renew our minds (Ephesians 4:22-24) because our minds affect our whole being.
We cannot live the life God intended, a life of freedom and joy, without a change of mind. Knowledge is the investigation of the truth. As we grow in the knowledge of the Word of God we begin to make better choices, and bear his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18) as He starts the transformation process of renewing our minds (Romans 12:2).
My challenge to you is to commit to get into the habit of reading daily Scripture. Begin by reading God’s Word for 20 minutes each day for 30 days. I’m confident your mind and thinking will begin to change, which will have a positive impact on your life. You can do it!
