Promise:
Our ability to learn, change, and grow is a gift. Neuroplasticity is evidence of God’s grace.
Passage:
After Paul retells a doxology that alludes to Isaiah and Job about the unknowability and unsearchability of the wisdom and knowledge of God, he gives this plea:
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This verse says that knowing the will of God (and who doesn’t want to know that!) starts with a transformation of the mind. Not conforming to the standards set by others, but offering and emptying yourself to God. We do this “in view of God’s mercy.” It is his compassion that has us respond, but also makes transformation possible.
Hebb’s Law in modern brain science has taught us that “neuron’s that fire together wire together.” The more you think on something or do something the more naturally those thoughts and actions become. We are capable of change. It just happens at an atomic and spiritual level. We can learn to listen and do the will of God because he has given us this plasticity. Like Isaiah wrote (64:8), God is the potter and we are the clay. Moldable and restored to beauty in the hands of our savior.
Practice:
In Luke 2:52 we read about Jesus’ childhood and that he grew in “wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man.” Using that as a framework, how have you successfully grown your wisdom or mental capabilities, how have you grown physically (as an athlete, your health), and how have you grown relationally, with God and with your family, friends, neighbors, and community.
Pause:
Reflect on a time when you learned something new. Perhaps in one of the domains listed above. You started as a beginner and were not very good, but with practice got better, stronger, more efficient, and more confident. Think deeply about what you did to gain proficiency. The hours you put in. The sacrifices made. The help you garnered from others. Ask God to show you the patterns that led to success. Then ask God to show you an area of your life in which you need to do the same.
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