“To be conformed to Jesus, we must first begin to think as Jesus did. We need the “mind of Christ.” We need to value the things He values and despise the things He despises. We need to have the same priorities He has. We need to consider weighty the things He considers weighty.”― R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God

              R.C. Sproul understood something that many today miss in their getting caught up in the daily flow of life. He understood that belonging to Christ meant becoming like the one who redeemed us from sin and death, including not only our beliefs about reality, but in our values, our thoughts and feelings, and our actions. If we truly believe that Christ is the Son of God and that we owe all our being and all our salvation to His work, everything about us should change from our previously unredeemed state.

              This “mind of Christ” must go beyond superficial make-up replacing our old desires and preferences inclined towards sin. It must penetrate deeper and deeper to remake us in the image of God in man, best exemplified by Christ himself, our elder brother. We must think about ourselves, about our lifestyles, about our relationships, and more as Christ would have us think.

              Our desires should become more and more pleasing to Him and His desires, thus leading us to feel differently that those who do not follow Him. When we value what He values, we will prioritize different things in our daily life, and thus act differently than the world around us. We will be concerned about what Christ is concerned about.

              We will be changed inside out. We will resemble Christ not simply because we go to church or make a profession of faith, but because our new natures of beliefs and values will pour out of us naturally. We are to respond to Christ’s calling us to become like Him by submitting to this sanctifying work in all our beliefs, our thoughts and feeling, and our practice individually and collectively. R.C. had this right on target.