No Longer an Alien

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.”

 

How do so many fairy tales start off?

They often go something like this:

“Once upon a time in a land far, far away…”

Maybe it’s because the opening word is the same but that is what I thought of when reading this verse today.

You see, it’s true, once upon a time you were indeed alienated from God.

Why?

Because we were enemies in our minds against God and it was clearly seen in our evil behavior.

So maybe now you’re thinking “I wasn’t such a bad person. It’s not like I murdered anyone or did something awful like that.”

When we think like that we are, in fact, reinforcing what the scripture is telling us.

We tend to think a “little” sin does not really offend God.

When we think like that we reveal a mind that has not been renewed.

We reveal a mind which misunderstands the holiness of God.

What do you think of when you hear the word alien?

I think of someone from another planet.

The mind which is not renewed is like a person from another planet.

We are not a part of His Kingdom.

Our thoughts are foreign to His Kingdom.

Do you live in a “…Once upon a time…” land of the unrenewed mind –

Or

Are you allowing the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to renew your mind?

Is His Kingdom thinking replacing the old patterns of the old man?