Right Mind part 3
Your RIGHT mind is the mind of Christ. Which is to say, between "right" and "wrong" it's always Jesus. Between the truth and the lie... between life and death... Let me say it this way, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12). A way that SEEMS right... and a Way (Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life) that IS right. Where we seem to get so mixed up is when we try to go our own way. When we try to do it (whatever IT is) ourselves. Because there's a way that seems right to a MAN... and that's the way of flesh. Human effort. Pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. Seeing vulnerability as a weakness. But I've preached this many times: Need help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of wisdom! Jesus said it like this, "...With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). And look at this: WITH God all things are possible. Not FOR God (even though that, of course, is true), but WITH God. Because God is WITH us. There's a lot of Scripture about that unity between God and man. Partaking of the Divine Nature. Being a co-heir or co-laborer with Christ. That idea of having a helper, or a Comforter (the Holy Spirit). Even being strengthened by the Holy Spirit in the inner man. Which is the RIGHT way. Letting the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us is how we do all of the things we were created to do. How do we partake of the Divine Nature? By letting the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. How do we do all the works Jesus did and greater works than those? By letting the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. It's about submission. Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices. Instead of saying, "I have to do this for God, and so I'm going to try the best I can," we need to come to the place where we can say--from a posture of rest--"I can't do anything, so just do whatever You want to do in and through and as me." Instead of trying to live Jesus' life (which is impossible for anybody except Jesus to do) we need to start letting HIM live His own life in and through and as us. Instead of trying to think God's thoughts we need to just let Him think His own thoughts and be receptive to them. I've told this story before but I think it encapsules what I'm trying to say. Once upon a time I was at work, and I had a chocolate chip cookie that I was super pumped to eat. Then my cowoker said something about how hungry they were. And before I knew it I had given them my cookie. All of a sudden they weren't hungry anymore. But here's the key: I didn't try to figure out what to do in that situation. I didn't force myself to "act" like Jesus, or anything like that. I just did what came naturally to me. I saw a need that I could meet, and I met it. It was the "right" thing to do. And I'll end with this: Even though it was a sacrifice--MAN did I want that cookie!--it wasn't hard. When you love somebody, sacrificial love--laying down your life for your friends--flows freely and easily and naturally. It's not just what you do... it's who you are!