THE SPIRITUAL MIND

Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus...
Philippians 2:5

In a recent Bible study, when we came to Philippians 2, we found ourselves in one of my favorite passages. The lead-in to the passage is our opening verse. If anyone really wants to know who Jesus was/is, that passage gives a wonderful list of some attributes of Jesus that would be worthy of us emulating. Such attributes cannot be a matter of pretense, but they must be incorporated into our lives through a sincere walk with the Lord that would be a worth while goal for any of us.

In the last twenty-five years, I heard of a former fellow social worker who was in a hospital on life support.. I learned there had been a tragic automobile accident. My friend was the dearest of Christians and a young mother. She had died almost instantly in the wreck. Her family agreed to organ donations although they never dreamed such a prospect would come so soon to any family member, let alone one so young. My friend was taken immediately to the hospital where she was put on life support that kept her body viable for the purpose of organ donating.

Should one have walked into my friend's room, the scene would have been surprising. Except for bandaging on the head of the patient, one would have thought my friend was just asleep. Of course, there were tubes and machines all over the place. Machines were breathing for her. The skin color of the patient was pink and healthy looking. It would seem as though my friend should be able to get up and walk. Minus machines and a bandage on the head, any patient under similar circumstances might look in many respects as if they were still alive.

In each case of this kind, it falls to the leading physician to speak with the family members, telling them that after much testing, they found there were no brain waves present in their loved one. Once brain waves are not found (and these measurements are precise) the victim of an accident is usually declared to be deceased. Denial generally sets in on heart broken family members and as they look at their loved one, it would seem there is life. That life appears real because of all the equipment keeping the body itself alive, physically speaking. You see, the mind is what and who we are. It is seated in the brain, yes, and the physical body functions because the brain/mind is working as it should.

What about our spiritual bodies? As Christians, we can put on such a front that other Christians think we are alive and well spiritually. After all, we appear to be doing all of the proper things that make us appear to be spiritually thriving. Perhaps we sing in the church choir, teach or attend a Sunday school class faithfully, pray good prayers before others, dress appropriately, and speak in pleasant tones. We may assure others of our prayers and carry a well-worn Bible. However, as good as things may look our being alive and well spiritually, we can fool folks. Inside of such ones, be they me, you or others, with all of the necessary “attachments” we may still be dead or near death spiritually, but no one can tell the depth of one's spiritual condition. I'm not speaking of a loss of salvation but of a loss of spiritual energy and even influence.

Putting on all the fronts of having a healthy and vibrant spiritual mind can take a lot of time and energy. Acting is time consuming and strength-sapping even if it does seem worth the effort to look good spiritually. Such pretenses have nothing to do with the mind of Christ. There wasn't a pretentious bone in the body of Christ. He was genuine, real with no effort of pretense to a sin fallen world. His only hook up was to His Heavenly Father, the same one who keeps you and me going, spiritually speaking. However, before a Holy God, we must approach Him in Spirit and truth. We may be able to make believe before others, but not before our all-knowing Father. We are to get eyes off of self and onto Him. To have a viable walk with our Lord means putting Him first, making Him the main focus of our lives. With that focus, we will do all in our power to be like Jesus with Holy Spirit power functioning in and through us.

I have asked myself in recent days, how much I want to have the mind of Christ. Am I willing to be a servant, to not strive for fame or all else Jesus was as He walked this same earth as I walk. To have His mind will be costly in that dying to self will never be comfortable. We are facing summer months when many take vacations even from the Lord. However, with the mind of Christ, we will keep going for Jesus no matter the time of year. You see, a big part of having the mind of Christ is consistency. Jesus died at Passover time, one of the most celebrated special times on the Jewish calendar. He could have said, “Not now...it's a “holiday”...but He didn't. He died a horrible death for you and me with no thought of personal timing. With His mind, we will be willing to die to self and to all else that would take our focus off of the One who paid it all for you and me

Dear Father, there is nothing about this Christian life I can manage on my own. I pray for Your power in my life not for the sake of pretense, but because I want a living, loving relationship with you. Thank You for all You have done in my life. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.