Having The Mind of Christ

Have you ever given thought to how powerful our minds are? According to an online source, the mind "is the aspect of intellect and consciousness experienced as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination, including all unconscious cognitive processes. The term is often used to refer, by implication, to the thought processes of reason." That sounds like a mouthful of psycho-speak, but in essence the mind is the seat of our intellect and consciousness. To varying degrees we are shaped by our thoughts; not only do we act based on the way we think but our thoughts and resulting actions define who we are.

I thought of the mind and it's importance in shaping us as individuals as I read Paul's admonition to the Philippian Christians, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (2:5, KJV). A careful reading of the entire passage reveals a church that was in turmoil because its members were acting in ways influenced by unregenerate minds. In its unregenerate state, the human mind is incapable of following the Lord to a higher life despite our best intentions. It keeps us holding on tightly to our self-image and world view, so tightly we are unable even to know where the journey will take us, let alone hold on to the Lord. We are reminded of another of Paul's admonition to the Roman Church, "...be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (12:2). The transformed mind is under the influence of the Holy Spirit and our intellect and consciousness should reflect that reality.

But what does it mean to have the mind of Christ? It means that we must walk in the same spirit and in the same steps with the Lord Jesus who sought not to do His own will but that of the Father (John 6:38). It is the assuredness that we are in the Father and He is in us, and that everything about who we are seeks to honor Him at all times. Given the various challenges we face in our daily lives that can be a very difficult thing to do. But it is to that higher standard that we are called; it is a walk that the Holy Spirit is willing to help us in.

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." How have you been behaving lately? What kind of thoughts have you been thinking?