I've Lost My Earthly Mind

Take 60 seconds and stare at the four black dots in the center of the image.  After 60 seconds quickly look away and blink your eyes a few times as you look at something light or white in color.  If we set our eyes in the right spot and in the right spot for a long enough time we should see what appears to be an image of Jase Roberston from “Duck Dynasty”.  No, it’s not Jase.  An image of Jesus Christ will remain “burned” into our vision for a short period of time.  The image of Jesus eventually fades and disappears.  In order for the image of Jesus to remain in our vision we would need to frequently re-set our eyes on the image.  This exercise is a good example of who we need to set our minds on if we are going to “lose our earthly mind.”

 

READ:  Colossians 3:1-9

 

There are many “things” that are “above” in heaven (ie God, the throne, elders, living creatures with lots of eyes, etc, Rev. 7), but there is only One that we need to set our minds on in order to “lose our earthly mind.”  In order to lose our earthly minds we must set our minds on JESUS CHRIST!  “Losing our earthly mind” is not so much stopping thinking about things on the earth as it is setting our minds on Jesus Christ.  How do we lose our earthly minds?

 

1.      Continuously allow our mind to dwell on THINGS ABOVE (vs 1) – There are two imperatives Paul uses to tell us how our minds need to be focused instead of earthly things.  The first one is the word “seek” which means, “to desire” or “to want”.  The second word translated “set your minds on” means, “to keep on giving serious consideration to something”, “to ponder”, “to let one’s mind dwell on”, “to keep thinking about”, and “to fix one’s attention on.”  Jesus said to His disciples in John 8:23, “I am from above”.  We should want to spend time contemplating Jesus Christ and the things of heaven!  The moment we pause or stop setting our mind on Jesus He will begin to fade in our thinking to a point where we don’t see Him anymore.  But the more we turn our eyes upon Jesus (set our minds on Him), and look full in His wonderful face the more the “things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” Sound familiar?

 

2.      Don’t allow our mind to dwell EARTHLY things (vs 2) – Paul says very clearly that we are not to set our minds on the things of this earth.  What are those things on this earth that easily capture our thinking and attention?  Money/possessions, popularity/fame, success/accomplishment, fun/entertainment, me/myself/I, . . . what do we think about the most?  Do they fit into any of these categories?  There are an infinite amount of earthly things that our minds can be preoccupied with and distracted by.  None of these things are “sinful” necessarily but can easily replace the desire we should have for things above.  If we find ourselves wanting these things and thinking more about these things on earth instead of God and His purpose and plan for our lives we may still have not lost our mind.

3.      Put our earthly thinking to DEATH (vs 5) – If there are things that need to be put to death in our lives, they are those things that are purely earthly desires and attachments.  Paul gives 11 specific examples in Col. 3:5-7 of earthly things that not only need to be eliminated from our lives and therefore our thinking.  As we look at those examples, the first thing many of us need to do is change our thinking about some of the ways we are acting.  We will not stop doing any of these earthly things if we do not think that they are sin! Secondly, even if we think something is sinful, that does not mean we won’t be tempted by it, and so we need to stop dwelling on it and thinking about it so we do not act out in sin.  Only when we put to death thoughts about things on earth will our actions and lives begin to be transformed.

What happens to those whose minds remain set on earthly things?  READ:  Philippians 3:18-19.  If our minds remain focused on the things of earth we become ENEMIES of God!  By thinking and therefore behaving in a worldly way we are fighting against God.  If we want to become an ally with God rather than an enemy we need to “LOSE OUR EARTHLY MIND”!!!

I've Lost My Mind

Before we speak or do anything a TOUGHT from our MIND of what we are going to say or do must come first.  Before we eat breakfast our mind has to think, “I’m hungry.”  Before we steal a candy bar our mind has to think, “I want that”.  Before we speak negatively about someone our mind has to think, “I don’t like them”.  Have you ever noticed that your mind NEVER shuts off?  Our mind is a complex computer made up of billions of neurons which make an estimated .1 quadrillion (100 trillion) calculations per second.  Our minds are constantly at work making choices, making judgments, and responding to our environment.  If we are in our “right mind” we are thinking in a logical manner and our words and actions seem to make sense.  But, if we have “lost our mind” our words and actions may seem strange or out of touch with reality.  May I suggest that “losing our minds” is something all believers in Christ should experience!

 

READ:  2 Corinthians 5:11-21

 

In verse 13, Paul describes the radical change that had taken place in his life as a result of Jesus living in and through him by saying, “if we are beside ourselves, it is for God” (cf. 2 Cor. 4:7-12).  A more literal way to translate this phrase would be, “if we are out of our minds (to think or reason in a completely irrational manner, to be insane, or mad).  Paul and his companions were thinking, and therefore living, like mad-men because their lives had been made new by the mind-altering presence of Jesus Christ in their life.

 

The same radical change occurs in our lives when Christ is living in and through us!  When we are living for Jesus Christ it will appear as if we have LOST our MIND!  When we begin walking with Christ, one of the first things to change is our thinking, which will make it seem to those around us as if we’ve lost our mind.  In this passage the apostle Paul shares some of the characteristics in his life that came about as a result of “losing his mind”.  If we’ve lost our mind then these will be characteristics of our lives as well.

 

1.   We’ve lost our mind if the LOVE of Christ CONTROLS us (vs. 14-15) – It was Christ’s display of love on the cross which compelled Paul to no longer live for himself!  Paul felt obligated to no longer live for himself, but to live for Jesus Christ, as a result of His death for his sake.  Paul put it this way in Phil. 1:21, “to live is Christ”!  When we are living for Christ we no longer live life for ourselves.  Others will think we have lost our minds when we start seeking God’s will instead of pursing our own plans and dreams for our lives.  Others will think we have lost our minds when begin orienting our whole lives around Jesus Christ instead of our own personal fulfillment and happiness.  That’s what the love of Christ does to our minds, it is a controlling force which comes in, takes over, and begins dictating the way we live our whole lives.

 

2.   We’ve lost our mind if we KNOW others in regard to their relationship with Christ (vs. 16-17) –

After losing his mind, Paul began to think about others from a different perspective.  Paul no longer came to know others merely by their outward human characteristics (gender, race, appearance, family, personality, affluence, etc), but rather based on their spiritual position “in Christ”.   In Paul’s mind, others were either “in Christ” or not “in Christ”.  Paul thought of others, either as still living according to the old self (sinful nature) or having become a new creation (slaves to righteousness) (Rom. 6:5-14).  Once we’ve “lost our mind” we will start getting to know others beyond the surface and superficial.  The most important question for those of us who have lost our minds is whether or not others have been made new creation through a personal relationship with Christ.

3.   We’ve lost our mind if we are AMBASSADORS for Christ (vs. 18-20) – Paul had been reconciled to God and was assigned the ministry and message of reconciliation.  Paul was immediately given a position and a job to do . . . ambassador for Christ.  As an ambassador Paul was given the authority to speak on behalf of Jesus Christ.  Once we’ve lost our minds and become representatives of Christ, we join in God’s effort to reconcile the whole world to Himself.  As ambassadors of Jesus the message we are to bring to others is, “be reconciled to God”.  This message may not be well received by others, but it is the job description of those who have lost their minds!

In reality, it is those who have not “lost their minds” who should seem strange and out of touch with reality.  Without God all our minds’ can come up with are selfish, greedy, and evil thoughts and decisions!  Remember, although when we are living our lives for Christ we may appear to have lost our minds, we are actually the ones that are thinking most clearly  and accurately about what is true!