Let the same mind be in you

Christianity is so radical... I didn’t see this until I was almost 40 years old.

It’s not just about going through the motions every Sunday (though it’s nice to have a routine). It’s not just about being “good” and staying out of trouble (though this is wise and I highly recommend it). It’s not about merely spouting teachings and doctrines ABOUT Jesus (though these are good to know).

The kicker is, in Christ,
We get a brain and heart transplant
And the mind and the heart
become connected.

In Christ, we live
and ARE LIVED
in a new way.

As Paul says,

Let the same mind be in you
that was in Christ Jesus
who, though he was in the form of God
emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.

This is a depiction of Christ consciousness. 

We see the movement - the choreography, if you will - of God taking up residence in, with, and for us in Jesus. God finds us in our most fearful places. While we are cowering in a corner. Or overcompensating for our insecurity and posturing over others.

This is what “the world” teaches us. An old and tired way of life that is left at the foot of the cross. But in Jesus, we are brought into the new. Though it is a new way of life for us, it’s a remembered way because it’s the only real way there has ever been. It’s the only way that life has ever really worked.

In the way of Jesus, we don’t just ascribe to this new way, mentally. We live it. Actually, we are lived BY it like surrendering to the mighty flow of a stream instead of fighting it. 

This is what turns our upside-down world right-side up. It drastically changes our personal lives - our relationships, how we carry ourselves at school and work, how we show up for our friends and family, and how we talk to ourselves in the mirror. We move not with a conquerers spirit, but a servant’s.

We don’t live to gain love and acceptance;
we live FROM a love and acceptance we can never lose.

And so, we get really curious about ways to look out for those who are typically overlooked. We live with ourselves more comfortably. This is the deeper physics of love that we can only find in the eternal embrace of God.

This is what will save our lives. This is the cross-shaped pattern the new life in Christ is shaped around. The death of the ego and the rebirth of Christ consciousness and neighborly love.