Like Jesus

"He thought like His Father."

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 BSB)

JESUS NEVER spoke incorrect words. He never thought wrong things. This was the evidence of the Holy Spirit in Him. He was filled completely with all of the Spirit to an extent we, who are now children of God through Him, do not comprehend. The Spirit can and will direct our thoughts if we will allow Him when we submit ourselves to Him. What sounds like us as an unthinking automation, though, is instead where the Triune God intends us to be.

We quote Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is," without realizing all these qualities that come from Him are changes in our thinking, our mindset. Jesus did not have to change His mindset. It was holy already. He thought like His Father and heard the voice of The Father as He wants all men to hear. Where the presence of God and the work of the Holy Spirit heal us to think like God and to have His nature and His perspective, Jesus was there from birth. He could think no other way.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23 BSB)

How much Holy Spirit do you want? Like the woman to Elijah, I will “borrow not a few” vessels. I want all the oil I can have and will give up anything to have it. But sometimes the giving up is painful. When there are things we enjoy that we want to do that turn us from what God needs from us, can we let them go? Even if our reasons seem to be good ones?

“Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.” (2 Kings 4:3-6)

God is not polite as I was raised in the American South to perform politeness. There is a sense in the rulebook of politeness of even a need to lie when necessary, in order to be polite. God speaks truth, and that is not the same thing. He is always gentle and kind but at times He asks what we can't actually refuse and stay in the place of maturity He has for us. And sometimes, it is the small things which we view as inconsequential which stump our toe the most. "Why can't I have that? It isn't sin." But it isn't what God desires for us in order to grow up. He must be first and all of our nature and likings last.

Casting our care upon Him has many facets. We cast our anxieties upon Him, but we also cast our self-made choices upon Him; and this is an act of obedience. Obedience is one of the three legitimate ways of suffering on this earth. Sickness, injury, and disease ARE NOT. They come from death, which will one day cease. We must trust God in us completely for our healing, and trust Him, knowing, even in the small things we are asked to give up, that He has a greater purpose. Part of that purpose is unity with Him. We cannot be united with what we allow to have gaps. A husband and wife become one, and all they are is then shared with each other. Even where it creates wrinkles. So too we unite with our beloved God, and we trust Him to fine-tune our nature to become loving and gentle and generous like He is.

Like Jesus was when He walked on the earth.

“For it was God’s pleasure to have his entire identity, character—the fullness of his essence—live in Christ” (Colossians 1:19)

Image by Karen .t from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com