Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Renewing the Mind

Man was made to know good with his mind, to desire it, once he has come to know it, with his affections, and to cleave to it, once he has felt its attraction, with his will; the good in this case being God, his truth and his law. God accordingly moves us, not by direct action on the affections or will, but by addressing our mind with his word, and so bringing to bear on us the force of truth...Affection may be the helm of the ship, but the mind must steer; and the chart to steer by is God's revealed truth.


--J. I. Packer
___________________________
A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p.195

8 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Hi Gregg, good words to read as always.

Enjoy your day.
Yvonne.

Larri said...

Great quote!

Addressing our mind with his word...I like this line.

We've gotta read his word in order to know his word.

Happy Tuesday! ☺

Persis said...

Great quote and another book to add to the list.

mikew116 said...

Great quote! That's probably one of the better J. I. Packer quotes I've read.

Petra said...

Great quote. Made me think of Psalm 34:8. Blessings!

Josh Litton said...

Great quotes, Gregg. Always insightful.

Anonymous said...

Great quote by Mr. Packer. Thanks for sharing :-)

Cathy M. said...

Studying the Word should be elevated above an emotional experience? Now THAT'S counter-cultural. Great quote, but I think if folks really thought through the implications of what he's really saying, they'd probably strongly disagree considering what happens in most churches on Sunday mornings.