To live our best lives possible, we must possess the mind of Christ.

Philippians 2:5 (ESV)
⁵  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

To have the mind of Christ means to think the way He thought, at least to the best of our ability.  We need to develop the same disposition of mind toward God and man that Jesus demonstrated.  How do we reflect the mind of Christ?  To get the answer to that question, we merely need to look at the life of Christ and see the example He set for us.  Paul does a little of that in Philippians 2.

Jesus had a sacrificial mindset.

Philippians 2:6-7 (NIV)
⁶  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; ⁷  rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

This does not mean that He stopped being God, but He did give up the appearance of God.  This is why the King James Version says that He made Himself of no reputation.  I like the way The Complete Biblical Library put it:

“Therefore, He divested himself not of the nature nor attributes of deity, but of the prerogatives that belonged to Him. In other words, He emptied Himself of the expression of deity, not the possession of deity.”

How did Jesus do this?  Paul said it was by “taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”  This refers to the incarnation of Christ.  Physically, Jesus took on the same restrictions that all human beings have.  He gave up His glorified state in heaven for an earthly abode in a flesh and blood body in the likeness of men.

This was a major part of God’s scheme of redemption.  Without the incarnation of Christ, there could be no sacrifice for sin.  Jesus took on a human body so that we could be sanctified and redeemed by His sacrifice (Hebrews 10:5-10).  There has never been a greater sacrifice than this.

We demonstrate the mind of Christ when we show that we are willing to sacrifice for others.  Paul began Philippians 2 by saying, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (ver. 3).  Why should we be willing to do this?  We should be because Jesus was willing to do it, and we should have the same disposition as He had.

Are you willing to put others before yourselves?  Are you willing to sacrifice for the betterment of those around you?  This is what Jesus was not only willing to do, but what He did.  Let us strive to have the mind of Christ that will lead us to be like Him.

Jesus also had an obedient disposition.  The sacrifice of Christ was produced by love, but not love alone.  There was an obedient element to it.  Paul said that Jesus was “obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (ver. 8).  The Hebrews writer spoke of this when he wrote, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.”

We cannot claim that we have developed the disposition of Christ if we are not willing to obey God in all things.  Jesus once said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34).  Doing God’s will should be what sustains us as well.  Never take any command of God lightly.  Every day you should have the purpose of pleasing God.  To think like that is to think like Christ.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.