Top Priority

My top priority makes me part of a minority. I want to see life differently than the majority of people do. I want to lay down any feelings I have of superiority so I can walk in humility and equality with all human beings. I want to lay down my own authority and decision making and instead to live by the authority and will of another. I want to live by the mind of Christ, not by my own mind.

Let the mind of Christ function vibrantly in you. A Jesus stuck in history can’t help you much. A Jesus stuck in Heaven is far away. But the risen Jesus living in and through you is “the hope of glory.”

Christians have been given “the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).” The Greek word translated as “mind” is “nous.” It doesn’t just mean the intellect of Christ. It means the mindset of Christ, the perspective of Christ, the understanding and insight of Christ. The “nous” of Christ is His way of seeing things. It is the ability that Moses had of “seeing Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27 KJV),” and leaving his old life behind. It is to “look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18.)”

Although we have been given the perspective of Christ, it is easy to ignore it and instead to live by our own point of view, our own understanding, and our own desires. For the perspective of Christ to fully and freely function in and through me I have to deny myself, take up my cross, and daily follow Jesus instead of my own thought, feelings, desires, and opinions.

Here’s an example. The “nous” (perspective) of Christ tells me to, “Bless those who curse you.” Although I’ve been given that perspective directly from Jesus, it is very easy to ignore it and instead speak unkind words. (Look how many Christians are doing that very thing nowadays.)

Here’s a mind of Christ challenge: Say or write something nice today to someone you disagree with or who has insulted you. Jesus put it this way: “Bless those who curse you.”

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