What's in the Name?

So I probably should have made this my very first post. I'm sure some of you may be curious about the title of my blog - "Have This Mind...".



This phrase can be found in Philippians 2 beginning in verse 5 where Paul tells the church at Philippi to "Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."



The book of Philippians has been very close to my heart over the past year. The words written by Paul, inspired by God, have brought me encouragement, comfort, and even conviction. While several verses stand out to me, this passage has, by far, stood out the most. All other verses in the book seem to center around this very descriptive passage. If you have ever read or studied Philippians you can better comprehend where I'm coming from.

When I hear the words "Have this mind", my mind immediately goes to having the mind and heart of Christ. Christ didn't come to earth and throw out do's and dont's and then say "alright there you go...good luck with that." By no means! Instead, He lived what He preached. He didn't just say "be this way" or "do this and this and this", He put feet to His words.

Just before this passage, Paul tells the church to have the same mind, be in the same love, to not only look to your interests but to the interests of others, and in humility to put others needs ahead of your own. Then, comes those great words..."Have this mind". "What mind" you might ask. Well, the mind of Christ, who though He was God, He didn't use His power, His deity to retreat away from laying down His life as an atonement for our sin. Even though He was still God, He made Himself nothing - a servant, a man. His death is the greatest act of humility ever done.

So again, we aren't just told to be humble servants, we are shown how to be. We must lay aside who we are, put on Christ, and serve God as we serve those we encounter. What an amazing responsibility we have as followers of Christ! How awesome it is to have this calling on our lives - to live and serve as Christ did. How great a God to have redeemed us and given us this great ability.

My question to you is this...Do you have this mind? Do I have this mind? My prayer is that we will live out this calling. Oh what a testimony of the power of Christ that would be!