So! Who did you vote for?
I really don’t want you to answer that question. It was rhetorical. In fact, it was so rhetorical because it’s not the point of this E-pistle. Maybe the more appropriate question would be, “So, Did you vote!”
I’m glad you asked. Yes, I voted this morning. I was on the way home from swimming very early in the morning when KDKA announced that the Polls were expected to open in 60 seconds. I looked at the clock and thought that it would be a good time to go and vote. Get it done, out of the way!
I won the bronze, came in third. Quite a disappointing finish! Although it was the best finish that I’ve ever had. I’ve never voted that early. My usual question of voter turnout is quite moot at that hour in the morning. But I digress.
After voting, I had been reading a book entitled, “Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry” by Gregory Jones and Kevin Armstrong. I didn’t get far today because I got stuck thinking about one statement. That made me think about how I live, how I think, and it even made me think about how I voted.
They were talking about a theology of Christian Excellence and how it is that we should be seeking it in our lives. They argued that the book of Philippians has a significance for us that should shape our lives and ministries. They write, “we are called to develop a common life that strives “side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel” (Phil 1:27).” Moreover, they argue that we should have the “mind of Christ.”
This may not be earth shattering journalism or new doctrine, but what made me really start to think was something that was said a paragraph later. “First it is important to note that seeking insight into Christ’s mind is not simply a matter of cognitive reasoning . . . but is better construed as a form of practical reasoning that involves our whole lives: feeling, thinking, and perceiving, as well as acting and living” (Excellence, p. 18). With that said, they go on to say that you could rightly translate that text as, “Let this be your pattern of thinking, acting, and feeling which was also displayed in Christ Jesus.”
So in other words, I began to think, this thought process, this mind of Christ should invade and influence every facet of my life? As I shake my head and confirm that yes, indeed it should. It should influence everything. But then I ask myself the larger question.
Does it?
Do we allow the mind of Christ to be one with out own in everything that we do? Do we allow the mind of Christ to be a part of ourselves in the thinking, the acting, the feeling, and for that matter, the speaking? Is Christ that much a part of your life?
And then I guess this is why I got stuck. Then I thought to myself – did I allow that same mind to be a part of my time standing behind an electronic voting machine this morning?
What about you? Did you vote? How did you vote? And maybe more importantly, if you didn’t vote with the “mind of Christ,” will you in November?
Just some food for thought, and something to chew on when you go to the poll today.
I do not take PAC money from Duke University, Gregory Jones or Eerdman Publishing.
I am Gregory Cox, and I approved this message.
Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg
I really don’t want you to answer that question. It was rhetorical. In fact, it was so rhetorical because it’s not the point of this E-pistle. Maybe the more appropriate question would be, “So, Did you vote!”
I’m glad you asked. Yes, I voted this morning. I was on the way home from swimming very early in the morning when KDKA announced that the Polls were expected to open in 60 seconds. I looked at the clock and thought that it would be a good time to go and vote. Get it done, out of the way!
I won the bronze, came in third. Quite a disappointing finish! Although it was the best finish that I’ve ever had. I’ve never voted that early. My usual question of voter turnout is quite moot at that hour in the morning. But I digress.
After voting, I had been reading a book entitled, “Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry” by Gregory Jones and Kevin Armstrong. I didn’t get far today because I got stuck thinking about one statement. That made me think about how I live, how I think, and it even made me think about how I voted.
They were talking about a theology of Christian Excellence and how it is that we should be seeking it in our lives. They argued that the book of Philippians has a significance for us that should shape our lives and ministries. They write, “we are called to develop a common life that strives “side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel” (Phil 1:27).” Moreover, they argue that we should have the “mind of Christ.”
This may not be earth shattering journalism or new doctrine, but what made me really start to think was something that was said a paragraph later. “First it is important to note that seeking insight into Christ’s mind is not simply a matter of cognitive reasoning . . . but is better construed as a form of practical reasoning that involves our whole lives: feeling, thinking, and perceiving, as well as acting and living” (Excellence, p. 18). With that said, they go on to say that you could rightly translate that text as, “Let this be your pattern of thinking, acting, and feeling which was also displayed in Christ Jesus.”
So in other words, I began to think, this thought process, this mind of Christ should invade and influence every facet of my life? As I shake my head and confirm that yes, indeed it should. It should influence everything. But then I ask myself the larger question.
Does it?
Do we allow the mind of Christ to be one with out own in everything that we do? Do we allow the mind of Christ to be a part of ourselves in the thinking, the acting, the feeling, and for that matter, the speaking? Is Christ that much a part of your life?
And then I guess this is why I got stuck. Then I thought to myself – did I allow that same mind to be a part of my time standing behind an electronic voting machine this morning?
What about you? Did you vote? How did you vote? And maybe more importantly, if you didn’t vote with the “mind of Christ,” will you in November?
Just some food for thought, and something to chew on when you go to the poll today.
I do not take PAC money from Duke University, Gregory Jones or Eerdman Publishing.
I am Gregory Cox, and I approved this message.
Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg
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