Pt. 1
I have
previously written about a teaching I did at the residential ministry in which
I currently counsel, and mentor women who have been released from prison.
I was teaching
on the topic of The Mind of Christ, and I said,
“In the Book
of Philippians Paul speaks of Jesus’ decision to divest Himself of His majesty
and glory for the space of 33 years, and take on flesh, in order to die for our
sins on the cross. And during the life that He lived out in front of us, the
Savior role-modeled an humble, unpretentious life of a man.”
(and)
“That
willingness to set aside His glory and majesty for a season was all about a
mindset, what we refer to as The Mind of Christ; a mindset that we should also
emulate.”
(and)
“In
Philippians Chapter 3, Paul speaks about his own Christian role model, and the
life he has led for so long, and he encourages his readers to copy his
example.”
And then, I
spontaneously added,
“You know the
mindsets we adopt, and practice should emulate those of our Lord and Master. And
using a metaphor based on what Paul said in Philippians 3, I think it’s kinda
like a Xerox machine. When the copier is in good shape, and full of ink, it
puts out a virtually perfect copy. However, when it is old, and/or the ink is
low, the quality of the copy just doesn’t measure up.
(and)
“A believer’s
mindset, and resulting attitudes, choices, goals, character, words and actions are a lot like
that. We can produce a remarkably good copy of Christ’ mindset, and life, and
bring honor to the One whom we love, or the copy we produce can leave much to
be desired, and bring dishonor to the Lord of our lives.”
All that being
said, I dreamed a dream last night which, as it fell together, has everything
to do with my recent teaching.
I went on to
say,
“In my dream,
I was carrying something rather bulky, and quite heavy. And as I was walking, I
came to a body of water, and found myself wading into it. Up to my ankles. Up
to my knees. Up to my thighs. And now I reached a barge of sorts, and I found
myself climbing up onto it, and setting my burden down for a moment.
“And as I
stood upon the barge, I noticed two women. One on my left and one on my right.
The one on my right was a former client and intern; a young lady named Rita.
The one on my left was a former client and intern named Iris.
“And I was so
glad to see them after such a long time that I could not help but hug each one
of them; before stooping to retrieve my burden. And it was then that I realized
that I was holding a… copy machine.
“And then,
suddenly, none other than the God-man appeared before me, having just walked
through a door, and I realized that the smile on His face could not be
contained. And I smiled in turn, and offered the copy machine to Him. And then,
and then He reached out with those powerful, nail-scarred hands, and took the
heavy piece of equipment from me.”
It was then
that I awoke. And I immediately realized that the dream I had just dreamed
characterized my earlier teaching well.
Pt. 3
The
interpretation?
The copier I
found myself carrying was all about the mindsets, attitudes, goals, character,
words and actions which I produced during the course of my Christian life.
The water
represented what Christians metaphorically refer to as “The River Jordan.” The
cessation of this mortal life. The advent of life eternal.
The barge? The
last, fleeting moments of my life on earth, and an opportunity to bid farewell
to two of those dear souls whom I had impacted on the earth, and perhaps
admonish them to continue to copy me, as I attempted to copy the One who loved
me, and gave Himself for me.
(And
interestingly enough, one of these dear young ladies, Rita, once shared the
most marvelous words with me that any human being ever spoke in my presence.
“Dr. Bill, I
don’t want to disappoint you. I’ll go for you when you can no longer go. I’ll
speak for you when you can no longer speak. I’ll reach, teach and keep people
in your name; long after you have gone on to your reward”).
And I think
the exchange of the copier speaks for itself.
As I prepare
to follow the Lord of my life across heaven’s threshold, He accepts this
tangible representation of my mindsets, attitudes, words, actions, and character,
as well as my attempt to serve as a faithful role model on the earth.
And now Jesus
smiles, as if to say,
“Well done,
thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of thy Lord.”
I can think of
nothing better.
God grant that
I walk worthy of the vocation to which I have been called. God grant that I
adopt and practice the Mind of Christ. May my attitudes, goals, words, actions
and character mirror yours, and may I fulfill the plans you dreamed for me
before you made the worlds.
by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending
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