Food for Thought

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about thinking.  And, the more I think about it, the more I realize what an awesome thing thought can be!  Maybe I'm not making a lot of sense, but think about it...our thoughts are constant like breath, even in sleep.  They are often involuntary.  Ideas pop into our heads for seemingly no rhyme nor reason.  Thoughts also come like flashes of lightning.  We think of something great, but five seconds later we can't remember what it was!  I'm not sure why I've been thinking so much lately, but it has led me to a greater reverence of thought. 

The concept of thought can be very contradictory at times.  I mean, thinking is so easy, that we don't have to think about it to do it.  Yet, as a teacher, one of the greatest challenges I face is getting my students to think.  Not just gather knowledge and fill in a blank, but to dig deep.  To be able to apply a concept  to abstract situations, and see the big picture.  So...it's easy, but it's hard!!  Thoughts can also be contradictory in their moral nature.  Good and bad.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "A man is what he thinks about all day long."  That can be a great thing, or a really really scary thing! 

So what are we to think about all of this thinking?  Well, I think, like with every other gift we are given, we should handle it with care.  No good or evil can come without thought. 

Phillipians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Matthew 15:18-20 says, ""But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen
hands defileth not a man." 
 
God longs for us to think.  Not just about him, but about all of his creation.  Jesus often spoke in parables, not to frustrate us or cause us to argue about the meaning, but because He wants us to THINK!!!  He wants us to contemplate Him.  Think about what it means to follow Him.  To think like Him.  To serve Him.  To love like Him.  He doesn't want us suffer from the shallowness of spoonfed religion, but to have a deeper understanding of God.  And just as important as having a deeper understanding, is realizing that the more we know...the less we understand!  Sounds backwards I know.  But, the more I think about and learn about our creator, the more questions I have.  But this process of thinking, asking, learning, thinking more creates intimacey, respect, and desire for more.  This is the process we use to get to know one another, shouldn't we also use it to get to know our Lord? 

Never forget that our thoughts have power...great power that is never to be taken for granted.  The can and will control of us if we lose focus.  So, think about what you're thinking about.  Because the thoughts that grow in your mind can manifest in your life.  Hmmm...just some food for thought.