The Mind of Christ
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.
Matthew 11:29 AB
The Bible plainly indicates that our mental powers are to be brought under the control of Christ. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” says Paul in Philippians 2:5. “let [don’t hinder, allow] this mind be in you,” suggests that we can have the mind of Christ, or we can reject it. A popular song describes this attitude with the words “all or nothing at all.”
Oliver Barclay observed, “Fundamentally, to love God with all our mind is to let God’s revealed truth work through our lives so that our thinking, our attitudes, our worship, and our deeds are consistent. They should all be the result of God’s holiness and love and grace toward us. . . . The Bible, when it talks of the mind, is not asking us to develop a philosophy . . . but to allow revealed truth to control us.”
The human mind cannot be a vacuum. It will be filled either with good or evil. It will be either carnal or Christ-like. We cannot control the kind of thoughts that enter our minds. Negatively, the mind must be turned away from all evil. We must choose the kind of television programs we see. We must be careful of the kind of things we read; the things we think about; the things that occupy our daydreams. Positively the mind must be set on things that are above. It is not enough to put bad thoughts out of our minds. Godly thoughts must be put in by Bible reading, prayer, and communion with Christ, fellowship with other Christians, and Christian fellowship in the church.
Some unknown wise man has suggested, “Give your mind to Christ that you may be guided by His wisdom.”
The poet M. W. Biggs put it well:
Be Thou my Object, Lord, this day,
Controlling all I do or say;
That thro’ this mortal frame of mine,
Thy blessed traits may ever shine!
Oh! Fill me, Lord, with Thy deep love,
Attract my mind to things above;
That I a pilgrim here may be,
And truly serve and follow Thee!
Our Father and our God, I want to have the mind of Christ. Help me to fill my mind with good and not evil. Help me to put bad thoughts away consistently. Teach me to focus on righteousness, goodness, truth, and love. And always keep my mind on Jesus, the keeper of my soul. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).