Whoa! Wait a
minute. We know we are supposed to try to BE like Jesus, ACT like Jesus, and
LOVE like Jesus. But those are all external behaviors, things we can choose to
do. Now, we’re told to THINK like Jesus. That sounds about as possible as
leaping over Mt. Everest in a single bound. We’d be more likely to win the
lottery without buying a ticket than to have the same mindset, the same
attitudes, and the same motivations as the Son of God. Yet, there it is. A
command we’re expected to follow.
So when we’re confronted with an
impossible-looking command in the Bible, should we:
A) treat it as a
suggestion?
B) pretend we didn’t see it?
C) pretend we’re doing it but we’re
really not?
D) ask the Holy Spirit to
do it through us?
.
If you guessed
A-C, you’re wrong, but probably in the majority. If you guessed D, you’re
right, but it might not be the way you think. Asking the Lord to “do this
through me” is often spiritual code for “It’s God’s fault if I don’t obey Him.”
That’s not what it means. Before the Lord can do the impossible through us, we
have to be willing to get ourselves out of the way. If we are to have the same
mindset as Jesus has, that means we cannot hang on to the old mindset that
belongs to us. To think like Jesus means Self has to pack its bags. Self no
longer gets to vote or veto. We capture those self-centered, prideful, lustful,
envious thoughts, call them what they are, and kick them out. We stop excusing
our sin, and agree with God. Then answer D will work.
.
Are you willing to have
the same mindset as Jesus has? It means surrendering to His right to change your
thinking.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment