Daily D – 1 Corinthians 2:6; 4:14-17
1 Corinthians 2:6 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (NIV)
1 Corinthians 4:14-17 I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church. (NIV)
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Smart people smartly add to their learning. They may be mocked for knowing more and more about less and less, but focus expands. The better we know a subject, a truth, the more effective we are in applying that truth in a manner that benefits others.
What better subject, what more important line of enquiry is there than learning to think like Jesus? How would we, and those around us, be better off if we had the mind of Christ?
What if we saw every person the way he does?
What if we like him listened deeply to each person’s heart?
What if we clearly perceived what was true beyond words?
What if we asked the kinds of questions that make truth evident and healing possible?
What if we bore a non-anxious presence in every setting?
What if we did not have to have our say?
What if every word we did say exploded with meaning, purpose, and life?
How do we cultivate the mind of Christ? The second text above, 1 Corinthians 4:14-17 is instructive. As children became adolescents in Jesus and Paul’s day, they stood at the shoulder of their parents and learned how to do what was necessary to manage a home and a business.
Paul calls the Corinthian Christians “my dear children,” (4:14). He says they have had ten thousand guardians, instructors, teachers, but that they did not have many fathers (verse 15). He had become their father in Christ through the gospel (verse 15). To learn how to live Christianly, he asked them to do what he did (verse 16).
He sent Timothy, who he called his son (verse 17), to remind them of his way of life in Christ. As Timothy stood at Paul’s shoulder to learn how to live with the mind of Christ, so they were to stand at his shoulder and learn.
Each of us needs a Paul to instruct us. Each of us needs a Timothy to instruct. Each of us needs the mind of Christ for true knowledge, timeless wisdom, and sound decisions.
How can we develop the mind of Christ? Mentors like Paul and Timothy are essential. We also need to spend time with the Bible books we know as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We need to see Jesus up close and personal. We need to hear his words. We need to observe his actions. We need to ponder the results of what happened when he engaged people.
We need to learn to think like Jesus. We need to develop the mind of Christ.
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I will learn to think like Jesus.
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Our Father, please form in me the mind of Christ. I want to think your thoughts. I want to speak your truth. I want to live what I say I believe. I want to live a life you can bless and a life worth imitation. This is the daily, deepening grace I seek from you. Amen.
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