Putting on the Mind of Christ

Corinthians 2:16 4, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s Spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us”.

Flickr image by James Jordan

One of the side effects of the Fall of Man was that we were cut off from the life of God. Adam and Eve enjoyed fellow-shipping with the Lord every day. It must have been great to walk with the Lord in the cool of the evening, to talk with Him and enjoy His company. But after the fall, the light went out.

The good news is that after we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, the light in us is restored. It is life and the presence of the Lord in us. That is wonderful. But… even though we have the Lord in us guiding and helping us, our minds are still programmed with the old things we learned and most of it is non Christian.

Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. That you will learn to know God’s will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

We need to replace the old way of thinking with Jesus’ way of thinking. When we are tempted to think in the old way make a decision to replace it with what Jesus said. And stick to it. As often as the temptation comes stick to it. For a while memories of how I had been hurt by my ex spouse would torment me when I was driving in the car. Finally I realized that I had to put the word of God into action. I made a firm decision that whenever my ex came to mind I would pray for him. I kept doing it. Eventually those hurtful thoughts tapered off and then stopped.

How we can “think like Jesus”?

It sounds simple, but a great way to start is to ask ourselves a question. What does the bible have to say about this situation? Spend some time looking it up; ask a pastor or a trusted Christian friend to help you if necessary. Replace the old thought with the word of the Lord. Then ask the Lord how to put the word into practice in your situation.

I was raised in a home where if someone hurt us we simply cut them out of our lives – even if it was a relative. So harsh! When I became a Christian, I had to learn a new way of thinking about how to respond to unkindness, betrayal etc. The bible told me to love my enemy. The Lord showed me that when I obeyed the Word I was learning to think the way He does. Old habits die hard and it takes practice, practice, practice- but it does get easier.

I want to think like Jesus. I want that mind of Christ. How about you?
Jesus is Lord!