What Does it Mean to Think Like a Christian?

What does it mean to think like a Christian? To me, thinking like a Christian means having wisdom.

A simple definition of “wisdom” is seeing life from God’s viewpoint. The Bible was given to teach us how God thinks and to show us His heart.

It has been said that the Kingdom of God is an upside-down Kingdom. This means that whatever the natural or logical reaction is, it's not God’s reaction. Read what the prophet Isaiah wrote:

“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.” -Isaiah 55:8

God’s way is the opposite. It often seems upside-down to us. But what our Lord desires in our growth and maturing process is that our ways become like His ways and our thoughts become like His thoughts.

Paul calls this process of spiritual growth in Romans 12:2 the “renewing of your mind.” The reason this is so important is because the battle that Jesus is fighting for our hearts is really fought in our minds. Our thinking and our minds are very important. That’s why Paul said:

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” -Colossians 3:2

Let’s take a look at a few conflicts between our culture’s ways and God’s ways.

Everything about the Christian life is by faith. God tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:7 to “live by faith, not by sight.” To the Christian, everything we can see is temporal, and everything that involves the unseen truths of God is eternal.

Once again, a point of tension exists between reality—what I can sense—and eternal reality—what I can’t sense. This includes God’s promises that aren’t realized in this life.

You and I follow a Savior whom we cannot see or touch. We believe promises from a book that was written thousands of years ago. And we make choices to honor a God who is always present, but who we will likely not lay eyes on in this physical life.

Somewhere in life’s journey, we must decide which reality we will live in. Once a decision is made, we must be intentional on a daily basis to depend upon Scripture or to depend upon culture’s perspective.

When we choose to think like a Christian, we are choosing to make decisions the following way:

• It is more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35). So by faith, we give.
• “... bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:28).”  So by faith, in the midst of hurt, we offer underserved acts of kindness to those who hurt us.
• “... joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions (Hebrews 10:34).” So by faith, we say, “Thank You, Father, for Your purpose for my life in the midst of this painful situation.”

When we choose to think like a Christian, we choose to live in an eternal reality and to make God's ways our ways.

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