Unthinking faith is a curious offering to be made to the creator of the human
mind.

John Hutchinson

I am privileged to meet every Wednesday with a group of friends as we consider "The Mind of Christ". This is a very deep subject and one worthy of exploration. We began by sharing analogies for our own minds. This proved very interesting...and revealing. Since we shall remain anonymous, I will share some snapshots of the minds that were present:

1. An attic - full of treasured memories, memorabilia, junk, litter, dust, and cobwebs.
2. A sieve - no explanation necessary
3. A stream - flowing from one thought to another
4. A merry-go-round - you know, those thoughts that get in your head and roll around very unproductively
5. A kitchen utensil drawer - everything is in there that you need, you just can never lay your hand on it.
6. A house - with pleasant rooms, peaceful rooms, but sometimes with locked doors
7. A speeding highway - rushing from one thing to the next
8. A Rube Goldberg device - one thought triggering another...and another...and another

As you can see, there was quite a variety. But, the larger question is: Exactly what is your mind? Where is it? Is it your brain? How much control do we have over it? How much of it is conditioned learning? And if we are to "have the mind of Christ" what exactly does that mean? Is that referring to his human mind, or to his "divine mind" or are they the same? And then Paul in Philippians 2 tells us to "Let this mind be in you" and in 1 Cor.2 says that "we have the mind of Christ".

So...if we have it, why aren't we using it more effectively? And what are we doing (or not doing) that's getting in the way? That's a lot of questions. And this was just the introduction! So I'd like to hear from some of you. What is your mind like? Have you got an answer for me that defines the mind? Have you got a good analogy that shows the relationship between the brain and the mind?

We also looked at the "potter and the clay" analogy. (Isa. 64:8; Jeremiah 18:1-10) A good analogy up to a point. I mean, I do consider myself in a different category than a lump of clay. The clay has no say so in the matter. I do. If we were like lumps of clay, then all that God would need to do is mold us...and there we'd be. Just like he wants us to be. But, that doesn't happen and there's probably benefit in that. We're stubborn clay. We resist in this process of molding our minds. Ah...there's the rub. So, as we look at the question of having the mind of Christ, we also are looking at ourselves to try to discover why it is we resist. And can we let go of some of that resistance so that we can be better tomorrow than we were today...one step closer to the vessel God already sees in us.