Thinking Like Jesus

I am sure you have all heard the phrase, WWJD: What Would Jesus Do. It’s one of the most widely used Christian phrases in the world. We have even adapted this phrase to fit different situations. These adaptions go from What Would Jesus Say to Who Would Jesus Date. This phrase shows up often in Children’s books and on arm bracelets, but it has lost its importance. We need to bring it back to what it really means, What Would Jesus Do? What would He say, what would He think, and how would He act? As a Christian this phrase should go way beyond itself. Philippians 4:8 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” God has instructed us to follow Jesus’ example. We must change our entire mind and replace it with the mind of Christ Jesus. God desires us to be so closely connected in our relationship with Jesus Christ that our entire life reflects Him. By doing this we will be able to know What Jesus would do, What He would say, and even Who He would date.

            It may seem a daunting task to replace our mind with the mind of Christ. How are we to think like Jesus? How do we know what Jesus thought so that we can imitate Him? The Bible answers these questions for us.  Today I would like to talk about three characteristics of Jesus which we should be following. These three characteristics are humility, servanthood, and obedience. In order to think like Jesus we need to look at His life and the example he left for us to follow. Jesus was humble, He served others and, most importantly, He obeyed His Father. We also have people who, throughout history, have shown these characteristics in their lives, demonstrating how we can follow Jesus’ example.

            Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” It’s hard sometimes to be humble; it’s hard to think of others more highly than ourselves. Often we display false modesty and think we are being humble. Sometimes we tend to ‘think’ we are being humble, but instead we are trying to look humble so we can look good in the eyes of others. I know I am guilty of trying to build myself up in the eyes of others by outwardly showing humility. We do it without even noticing. We should rather be so committed to being like Jesus that we display humility without even noticing.  When we look at Jesus’ example we can see true humility. Jesus’ whole life was a picture of humbleness. He came to this earth as a man. He became the creation He Himself had created. He lived among us, touching the untouchables and healing the sick and hurting people. He took none of the credit for Himself, but rather gave it all to God.

            Then at the end of His life He gave Himself up to be crucified on the cross for the sins that we ourselves had committed. He took that punishment in our place on the cross, which was the most humiliating way to die. He had no selfish thoughts, only lowliness of mind. Even when he looked down at the people who had placed Him on the cross, He asked God to forgive them for what they had done. At a time when He was experiencing such suffering He only thought of others. He looked at what He had created above Himself. 

            We can look back in history and see people who followed Jesus’ example of humility. Amy Carmichael went as a missionary to India and saved hundreds of girls from slavery, pain, and poverty. She dedicated her life to helping these girls and at the end of her life,  she asked that there would be no marker for her grave. She didn’t want to receive the praise for her work because she saw it as God’s work, not her own. She was humble about her own achievements, giving the glory to God. 

            Jesus was also a servant to others. Philippians 2:7 says that Jesus “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” The Bible also says that He didn’t come into the world to be served, which was what He deserved, but rather He came to serve us.  Jesus showed us what it means to be a servant throughout His life on earth. One event in particular in which He demonstrated His servant like attitude was during the last meal He had with His disciples. Instead of letting them serve Him, He got down from his own seat, to wash their feet. Washing the feet of others was the lowliest job anyone could have; it was left for the lowest servants to do. But Jesus lowered Himself into the place of a servant and washed their feet for them. Throughout His time here on earth He showed us what it means to be a servant, how we should put others above ourselves.

            Gladys Alward demonstrated how we can take on Jesus’ example of being a servant to others. She was a missionary in China and served the Chinese people, opening up an orphanage for hundreds of children. When World War II broke out and the Japanese army invaded China, Gladys Alward was caught in the middle of the fighting and had a choice, she could either escape with the other foreigners and go back to her home in safety, or she could stay and protect the children in her care. She chose to stay with the children in peril of her own life. She then led a hundred children over the mountains to safety, often going hungry so that they could have food and giving up comfort for their sakes. Gladys Alward is just one example of a woman with a servant’s heart who chose to think of others above herself. She was someone who took Christ’s example and lived her life by that example.

           From Philippians 2:8 we can see that Jesus was obedient, the verse says, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”  Jesus was obedient to His heavenly Father. As this verse says, He was obedient even to the point of death on the cross for us. He brought everything to God in prayer and then said, “Not My will, but Yours be done.” And then, even if His will wasn’t God’s will, He followed God’s will. Not many of us will bother to ask for something we really want and then say to God, not my will, but Yours be done. We are too selfish to say that. But Jesus wasn’t. He was perfect and obeyed. When He was with His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, He knew He was about to give up His life for us in the most painful and lowly way. He knew what He would have to endure for us. And He went out by Himself to pray to God. He asked that God would take the cup of suffering away from Him. He asked that He wouldn’t have to die in this way. But after He finished asking God, He said, “Not My will, but Yours be done.” And when God said it was His will that Jesus die for the world, Jesus said, “Okay, then I will die for them.” And He took that cup of suffering for us. He was obedient to His Father to the point of death on the cross. Are we obedient even to our earthly fathers? What about our Heavenly Father?

            There have been countless people who have shown us what it is to be obedient to our heavenly Father. Missionaries have felt God calling them to the mission field and have answered the call in obedience to Him, giving up everything, leaving their home and family, and following God. Nate Saint had a bright future ahead of Him, He was very intelligent and could have gotten a good job at any airport as either a pilot or a mechanic. But he chose to obey God’s calling and went to the mission field in Ecuador to serve God by flying. God laid a desire on his heart to bring the good news of the gospel to the Auca Indians, an isolated people group who had never heard of Christ Jesus. Knowing of the danger involved in entering Auca territory, Nate still obeyed God and went in. After he went in, the Auca Indians killed him and his four fellow missionaries. He had known that death might be the outcome of obeying God’s calling, and yet he still went in. We also have to obey God no matter the circumstances.  

            As you can see, these three characteristics are intertwined. When we are humble, we become servants, when we are humble servants, we become obedient. Jesus added these three together and they became the basis for His ministry on earth. His whole life on earth was devoted to showing these three characteristics in everything He did and said. 

            Jesus says in John 13:10, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” In order to think like Jesus, we have to know how He thought, and in order to know how He thought we have to look at his perfect example and follow in His footsteps. Jesus left us an example that we should follow in it. So how do we think like Jesus? We see how He thought, how He lived out His life, and we take His example of how we ought to walk.

            Remember that Jesus wants us to shine His light, He wants us to be like Him, He wants us to replace our mind with the mind of Christ. We need to read the Bible, recognize the example Christ left for us, and emulate Him. When we live out Jesus’ example we will unconsciously live a life worthy of Him. We will be able to know the answer to the question What Would Jesus Do.