How God Restores His Image In Us

Daily Devotional – Wednesday, May 10, 2023
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

Adam bore the image and likeness of God. He resembled his Creator physically and in character. Satan was not happy. He devised a plan to obliterate the image of God from Adam.

Losing the Character of God

How did he do it? He started by corrupting Eve’s mind. Satan made Eve doubt God’s word. He portrayed the LORD as a liar. Eve believed the lie. She ate the forbidden fruit and convinced her husband to do the same.

Consequently, the entire human race was infected with the sin virus. Our predicament is described starkly by David, who, in the lowest moment of his life, states, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” (Psalms 51:5).

Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind

As a remedy, God sent Jesus to die for humanity and restore the divine image in us. When we accept the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross on our behalf, we are born again. A process of transformation begins in us. Jesus lives in us through the Holy Spirit and gradually changes our thoughts and conduct.

Now, the restoration of God’s character in us requires our active participation. Here is Paul’s appeal, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2).

Working Through the Mind

Just as Satan corrupts the mind to malign the image of God in us, God works through our thoughts to restore His character in us. Paul urges us to make deliberate choices to reject the sin and accept righteousness.

While the salvation wrought by Jesus is not in doubt, Paul suggests that our character transformation proves that indeed God is working in us. Because salvation works inside out, it is critical for us to assess what we feed our minds on.

Cultivating a Healthy Mind

A healthy mind means pure motives, thoughts and desires. To ward off Satan and to keep Christ continually in our minds, we need to choose carefully what we eat and drink, the television programmes we watch, the kind of music we listen to, the literature we read and the friends we associate with.

Whatever weakens our consciences gives the devil a loophole to exploit our reasoning and to lead us to sin. Conversely, when we choose to dwell on godly thoughts (see Philippians 4:8) we create an atmosphere conducive to the working of the Holy Spirit in our conversion back to the image of God.

How God Restores His Image in Us

In addition, a life of regular prayer, Bible study and meditation on the word of God, strengthens our mental faculty and predisposes us to obey God. It is also important to have quite times for rest, reflection and rejuvenation as we seek to cooperate with God as He restores His image in us.

Remember, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation and salvation essentially means overcoming sin and its effects by the grace of God.

Prayer
Dear God, because I want You to restore Your character in me, I will guard my mind from impure, corrupt and ungodly thoughts.