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On Tuesday, I received from Amazon Dallas Willard's incredible book Renovation of the Heart. It is the standard-bearer when it comes to understanding Spiritual Formation as the mission and ministry of every disciple of Christ.
In the book, he dwells at length on the necessity of having our mind filled with thoughts of God. The mind should become a spiritual think tank which, in turn, leads to the formation of Christ in us and through us. To bear this out, he cites a Thomas Watson quote from way back in 1663 that is riveting.
The first fruit of love is the musing of the mind upon God. He who is in love, his thoughts are ever upon the object. He who loves God is ravished and transported with the contemplation of God. "When I awake, I am still with thee" (Psalm 139.18). The thoughts are as travelers in the mind. David's thoughts kept heaven-road, "I am still with thee." God is the treasure, and where the treasure is, there is the heart. By this we may test our love to God. What are our thoughts upon most? Can we say we are ravished with delight when we think on God? Have our thoughts got wings? Are they fled aloft? Do we contemplate Christ and His glory? Oh, how far are they from being lovers of God, who scarcely ever think of God! "God is not in all his thoughts" (Psalm 10.4). A sinner crowds out God, out of his thoughts. He never thinks of God, unless with horror, as the prisoner thinks of the judge.
Is your mind a spiritual think tank upon God and His goodness? What consumes your thought life? Does the very thought of your relationship with God fill you with delight? If it is true that "as we think so we become," are your thoughts shaping you more and more into the image of the One in whose image you were created?
