"Layers" of thinking

It's definitely cool to see how God's truth enters our lives and not only changes our hearts, but our way of thinking.

I've frequently mentioned grace and the freedom it has brought.  One layer of wrong thinking He's removed is the idea my relationship with Him is effected by all the things I do or don't do.  He doesn't love me because I'm a good girl, and therefore doesn't stop loving me when I'm not a good girl.  Wow!  (Sorry if I seem to use that word too frequently.  Sometimes it just fits.)  I'm so thankful to be free from that wretched misconception.

It was - still is - revolutionary.

But you know what?  There are still areas where that old way of thinking (works vs. grace) crops up.  As I'm planning my week or my day, I'm often tempted to cram in as much as possible.  I have to stop and ask myself why.  Does God love me more or less depending on how my day goes? on how "productive" I am?  No!  Can I be close to Him even when I'm having a bad [read: not going the way I wanted it to] day? Of course!  (I need that closeness no matter how the day is going.)  But sometimes I forget that.  Or sometimes...even though I know my Heavenly Father isn't standing up in heaven filling out a report card of my performance...I'm worried about what so-and-so will think.  Perhaps trying to prove my worth by what I do.  By how much I do.  (Hmm.  THAT doesn't sound like grace at all, does it?)

Yes, God has been convicting me lately: that next layer of thinking has to go.  And while I agree, it's been such a habit for years that I frequently catch myself doing it.  I need His grace.  And His truth.

Isn't that what Romans 12:2 is talking about - the renewing of our minds, and the old patterns of thinking being replaced by His truth?

Lord, transform the way I think.