“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 2:5 NKJ

I came into a relationship with the Lord during my college years. It was the 70’s and the entire country under the age of 25 wore blue jeans and tee shirts, our generational uniform. We just wanted to be ‘real.’ And we wanted everyone around us to be ‘real.’ We hungered for real in every aspect of our lives, including God.

The worship songs of those days were simple, intimate heart cries: ‘I want to KNOW You. I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You, Lord. I want to TOUCH You, I want to see Your face, I want to KNOW You, Lord.’

To know God, and to be known by Him. This was heaven on earth. In those times of yearning for greater intimacy, I began to ponder, and ask, “Lord. What is on YOUR heart? What is on Your mind? Who are You thinking about? Show me Your heart, Lord, I want to see what is in Your heart.”

And He did. Beloved, He showed me, clearly, that what was on His heart and mind, what He never, ever stops thinking about, are the nations of the earth. All of them. Every tribe, every people, every tongue. Every mountaintop village, every dirty and overcrowded city and the children playing in the streets of the innermost cities. All of them. He knows them, by name. He knew them before they were born and even has their days written in a Book. He has good works planned for them to walk in, just as He does for you and for me.

In those worship times of prayer and song, I began to strain to ‘see’ the Lord. I began to care ABOUT Him. What was on His mind? What was on His heart? What impacted Him, affected Him. What brought Him pain and anguish?

The nations of the earth, the lost, the desperate, the angry, the marginalized, the hurting. His heart beats every day for them and every day He hopes…that we who call ourselves Lovers of God would begin to carry them in our hearts, as well. That they would become OUR focus, and our heart.

He looks out on the nations of the earth and He asks us, “Who will go for Me? Whom will I send?”

Will we draw near to the Lover of our Souls and open our hearts to receive His burdens? Will we carry the burden of the Lord with Him? In this way, we can truly say, “I have the mind of Christ.”

~ Debbie Ecker