This picture is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1925.

I wish I could crawl into your brain.  I’d love to worm my way into your lateral prefrontal cortex and convince of the hope you have through Jesus Christ.  I wish I could say the magic words to make your soul explode wide open with faith and joy.  I wish I could make you understand that we don’t need to understand all that’s going on in and around our lives.

There are times aplenty when I wish someone could crawl into my frontal lobe and do the same for me.

But, the truth is, no matter how strong and wonderous our brains may be, none of us is omniscient.  None of us can know all the whys and why nots and ifs and whens of life.  We simply are not God.

However, we can have the mind of Christ.  That doesn’t mean our thought processes are even close to on par with the Almighty.  (Even if I could, I definitely wouldn’t want the responsibility!)  What I mean by “the mind of Christ” is how we process what we perceive, where our focus lies, how we choose to see the world around us.

Consider this:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:1-11 [ESV]

What is Paul saying?  We are called to see the world the way Jesus sees it.  He didn’t fear the future.  He didn’t wonder if He was on the right track.  He didn’t second guess His every move.  Jesus followed the Father as the perfect example / personification of love.

Jesus did nothing out of selfish ambition.  Rather, His thoughts and actions were in lock-step with the Father.

If we can do the same – not merely as individuals, but as the community of believers, the body of Christ – we will find the answers we seek.  We’ll discover our worries are in vain.  We’ll be changed – transformed – into the people God created each and all of us to be.

Concerns of self-interest shrink when we live for others.  Our burdens are lighter, our joy full when we approach life as Christ did – with no condemnation, no worry, no doubt, no confusion.

It’s all about following the example of Jesus Christ, right down to how we think about our lives, ourselves and others.  Before you begin to worry, think about all the Lord has done.  Before you begin to doubt, look at His beautiful creation and consider the Creator.  Before you are overcome with anger or jealousy or bitterness, think of all you have been forgiven for.  Then apply these thoughts to your approach to life.

Live peacefully.  Love completely.  Believe with abandon.