You know, I have to confess that Hebrews 5:14 is a verse the Lord has not given me clear understanding on yet. Not sure that it relates to conscience or not. Some commentators suggest the athlete's analogy is being used, and yet I don't fully grasp that either...
Maybe something I ought to pray about.
Here's how I see it.
We learn from Scripture, and that learning is a writing upon our flesh, in our minds, as we begin the work of renewing the mind. The more we learn from Scripture, in particular the more we come to know God, and to understand ourselves, this is renewing our minds, establishing new ways to think, new concepts of reality.
Acting in keeping with this learning then both strengthens those neural connections and memories, but also establishes new ones, as we translate the learing, taking in, to action, giving out.
So we build a "reward circuit" in our mind, based on learning from Scripture, and acting upon that learning.
Of course all this pales in significance to the fact that the Holy Spirit is doing this construction within us to conform us to the image of Christ.
But I think this is a glimpse into a part of the process.
God works outside us, fruit is produced, we taste abundance, and want more.
And in this process, we are increasing our capacity for spiritual understanding as our mind is being renewed by this InTake/OutGo of God's Word producing His life in us.
When we don't trust, and so don't do what He leads us to do, then we're reinforcing the part of our brain that is in opposition to God, what I see to be the corrupted flesh.
When we do trust, and we do walk in what we've learned, we are able to receive greater understanding, and can better choose the correct path.
I think that God generally gives us "a bit more" to deal with than what we've had, in an increasing way, and that these are the afflictions which we receive as either testing or temptation, testing if we are enduring, temptation if our faith is faltering.
Much love!
