The Mind of Christ Seeks the Father’s Will (John 5:30) 

“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” – John 5:30 (NIV)

To understand the mind of Christ, we must see how deeply it was anchored in the will of the Father. Again and again in the Gospels, Jesus makes it clear: He does nothing on His own. His life is not driven by personal ambition or even human wisdom. Instead, He lives in continual dependence on God.

This is not passive fatalism, but active obedience. Jesus listens, discerns, and responds—not to the noise of public opinion or the demands of the crowd, but to the quiet voice of the Father. His inner compass is unwavering: “I seek not to please myself, but Him who sent me.” read more…

The Mind of Mercy and Forgiveness (Luke 23:34)   “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’” – Luke 23:34 (NIV)

Much of the essence of one’s life is found in the mind. What goes on in the mind colours your outlook on life, your experience of life and your quality of relationships. Your mind holds the door to your desires and your personality.

The mind is where belief, intention, and action converge, shaping the essence of one’s life. In the mind, we wrestle with both the weight of our experiences and the possibilities of transcendence. read more…

“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” – Mark 6:34 (NIV)

The question to ask is not whether it is realistic or practical or viable but whether it is imaginable. We need to ask if our consciousness and imagination have been so assaulted and co-opted by the prevailing consciousness that we have been robbed of the courage or power to think an alternative thought … the imagination must come before the implementation.”

The Christian mind, at its heart, is called to transcend mere practicalities and embrace the vast horizons of imagination and creativity. It begins not with a blueprint for a better world but with a vision of that world seen through the lens of divine possibility. Imagination, in this sense, is not escapism but a courageous act of faith—a refusal to accept the status quo as inevitable and unchangeable.

Creativity flows from this imagination, forming the very substance of what it means to live in alignment with the Kingdom of God. It is the act of participating in the divine narrative, weaving threads of hope, mercy, and justice into the fabric of human existence. A Christian imagination does not shy away from the brokenness of the world but seeks to envision redemption within it, crafting solutions that are as inspired as they are transformative.

Without imagination, faith risks becoming containment—bound by tradition and limited by convention. But when infused with creativity, faith inspires bold action, challenging systems of oppression and envisioning communities of radical love and grace. The Christian mind must therefore be a fertile ground where imagination blooms and creativity transform, echoing the divine mandate to “make all things new.”

The big lie is to tell ourselves, “The need is too great, the areas of need are too dangerous, and I am too helpless to do anything about it.” We then excuse ourselves from doing anything. The well-known story of the good Samaritan tells us that he only helped one person, but that he helped him properly. The need in our country is great, but just helping one person properly can make a huge difference to that person.

Millions in South Africa remain the victims of injustice through forced evictions. I think of the ganglands on the Cape Flats. These were people who lived in town, in reasonable houses and with a strong community leadership. Now torn from their homes and slung out into those compound-like flats new leadership structures emerged and suddenly a violent gang culture with drugs the new currency emerged. We call them by many names, forgetting they are the victims of one of humanities greatest injustices. Right here on our doorstep.

Compassion emanates from the deepest parts of our being—from emotional responses, cognitive reasoning, and spiritual inclinations. It is not passive sentimentality; it is active engagement, a discipline that asks us to see others as they truly are and respond with love and care. To cultivate compassion is to align our minds and hearts with the profound truth that every person we encounter carries a story, a struggle, and a longing to be known. In this way, compassion reshapes both the giver and the receiver, making the world a kinder, more connected place.

This is the mind of Christ: seeing people not through the lens of performance, politics, or category—but through the lens of mercy. He doesn’t just see what people do; He sees what they carry. Their fear. Their confusion. Their longing to be known and healed.

Christ’s compassion was not sentimentality. It moved Him to action: He taught, healed, fed, and forgave. Compassion, in the mind of Christ, is never passive. It leads us to show up, to speak gently, to act justly.

To cultivate a compassionate mind, we must ask Christ to show us how to look at others as He does. Not merely with human sympathy, but with divine vision. Where we feel nothing, we ask for tenderness. Where we feel judgement, we ask for understanding.

The mind of Christ is not quick to condemn but quick to care. It recognizes that each person is fighting a battle we cannot fully see.

Michael Crockett has been working in Hanover Park since 2015, particularly among the Mongrel Gang, where he assists in feeding through the Winter, makes time for games with the children, makes use of the Early Childhood Development information. The aim is to break the chain from childhood to gangsterism.

Keeping Christ in Mind (1)

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 2:5 (KJV)

Over the next few weeks, we are going to take a look at our minds, this marvellous gift that has so much potential within us for good and evil.  We begin with this profound statement of Paul in the book of Philippians which gives us the most beautiful and challenging picture.

The Greek word used here for “mind” refers not merely to thinking, but to a whole mindset, a pattern of inner disposition. It is radically counter-cultural, especially in a world that prizes self-promotion, power, and recognition. It’s a relationship that fits in perfectly with the two hemispheres of the single brain. The left hemisphere is often associated with logical reasoning, language processing, and analytical tasks, while the right hemisphere tends to oversee creativity, spatial awareness, and emotional intuition. Despite their functional differences, both hemispheres work in harmony, interconnected by the brain’s communication bridge, ensuring an integrated experience of thought, perception, and action.

Christ comes to us by the Spirit, to live within us and bring us into a special and unique part in the whole creative passage of God’s universe.

Carl Jung (Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst) said “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams, who looks inside, awakes.”

To adopt the mind of Christ is to begin a lifelong journey of God-awareness, self-loving – not self-loathing, and a releasing of self- entitlement, and control. Jesus didn’t think equality with God was something to grasp. He didn’t need to prove anything. Instead, He trusted the Father’s purpose and poured Himself out in love.

This is the example he now urges us to follow,

The mind of Christ, then, is not only humble but hopeful. It knows that sacrificial love will ultimately be vindicated.

For us, this has both a personal and communal challenge. Personally, we are invited to examine where pride, fear, or self-preservation rule our thinking. What might it mean for me to “let go” today—to serve without needing recognition, to surrender without knowing the outcome?

Communally, Paul’s words are written to a church. He urges believers to be “like-minded,” sharing the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. The mind of Christ is not a private virtue but a shared culture. Imagine a church where everyone chooses humility, serves freely, and looks not to their own interests but to the interests of others. Such a church would reflect the very heart of Christ.

Let this mind be in you. Let it shape your thoughts, your actions, your relationships. We pray: “Come Spirit of the living God and live your life in me.”

“Male and Female created he them.” “They were naked and unashamed”

In creating Man and Woman God is taking his creating skills to a grand finale. After Man and Woman there will be no more creating. From the first life in the sea to the man and woman a billion years later, God’s creating is finished- at least for us here on earth. God has created Creativity!!! From now on all living things will procreate according to their particular nature.

But there are some rules to be followed. And herein lies the first tragedy. And it is this tragedy, not their nakedness that leads to shame. And it is not guilt but shame that they experience as they eat the forbidden fruit.

Shame is defined as a profound and multifaceted emotion that permeates the human experience. It is often described as a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour. While it shares similarities with other emotions such as guilt and embarrassment, shame is unique in its intensity and its focus on the self. In other words, shame cuts deep into the soul. In a very real sense, guilt is easier to manage and get over.

Shame is self-punishment.  It is this all-loving creator God that they must hide away from.  Now the God against whom they have sinned is the very one who comes to rescue them while they are in hiding and sheds the blood of animals to make them clothing. No one else can save them from themselves.

This kind of experience is so central to the human situation that it should come first at the start of our relationship with God today. This complex feeling of failure in relationship is the most primal of our human self-awareness. It is our sense of shame that keeps us from God – as the prodigal son, who, when he did return, wanted to be a servant, not a son. It is the father who takes away his shame.  It is God who fully reinstates us.

WE are NOT reinstated to a system of faith, however noble that system might be. We are not freed only to be captured again by some other idol. “If the Son has set you free, you shall be free indeed.” We might choose to join a Church, as much as anything else where we might give expression to our newfound freedom.

Forgiveness, both of oneself and others, plays a crucial role in mitigating the effects of shame. By forgiving oneself, individuals can release the burden of past mistakes and move towards self-acceptance and growth. Similarly, acceptance from others, especially from those who are significant in one’s life, can provide reassurance and help rebuild a positive self-image.

Soon we will remember Calvary, Jesus dying to free us from our shame!

With Grace and Peace,
Mike Crockett
Ref. J.D.Davies  “Beginning Now.”

Thus far we have seen how God experiences some inner compulsion to share himself and his powers with created being; a different being; a being with the power to talk back, to question, and even to reject his advances.

This desire to share is out of the overflowing abundance of a loving God. In time we will see how Christ enters the world and acts out that love, firstly by behaving as God would have us behave, and then by becoming the vehicle by which we too may be adopted into the heavenly family. I know it sounds crazy – I use the word audacity!!!

I love this quotation from the work of one Werner Pelz, “Irreligious Reflections on the Christian Church”.

“God’s freedom is creation. He is free in having chosen his creative work, in continuing it and maintaining it. He is free because he has chosen, not because from moment to moment he can decide whether or not to continue with the work of his choice but because he is committed to his already established, unhurried (13.8billion years ago) choice.

Our freedom is experienced when we discover we have been called into God’s creative work, to participate with God in the ongoing work of God’s still developing creation.

God is free because he is holy, undivided and simple. “God wills what he knows and loves. He loves what he knows and wills. He knows what he wills and loves”. That is his freedom.

God is not free because He can choose between good and evil. He is free because he has chosen. We are free when we are pushed, pulled and dragged by the love of Christ into that togetherness, even with our limited understanding.

We are not free when we think we can choose between freedom and sin. We are free when we discover we are already chosen for freedom from sin. It is this freedom in Christ that we are called to live in and to proclaim.

Our calling is to live by faith in respect of those we love and with our enemies in such a manner as only one now in the Image of God should live.

Galatians 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free”. Take hold of your freedom and own it as life’s greatest gift to you. We are not victims, we are free, even as Viktor Frankel said: “I found true freedom in Hitler’s concentration camps – I had learned to set myself free!”

With Grace and Peace to you
Mike Crockett

References:
J.D. Davies          “Beginning Now.”
W. Pelz                 “Irreligious Reflections on the Christian Church
Viktor Frankel    “Man’s search for meaning”