A hundred years ago, when I played golf, I thought I was doing pretty well just to get the ball somewhere on the putting green. The truth be told, my main goal was to reach the green without major-ly embarrassing myself, so I was satisfied even when my ball dribbled onto the fringes.

One day, a local golf pro told me the key difference between average and excellent golf is this: The truly great players shoot for the hole, not somewhere near the hole or somewhere on the green. They aim directly for the hole.

He told me, "You should make the hole your goal; don't just aim at the green." My intelligent, thoughtful response was, «Yeah, right! That'll be the day.»

The apostle Paul tells us we have the "mind of Christ," and if that's so, we are capable of learning to think like Jesus thinks.

But our response to Paul is often, "Yeah, right. That's a nice sentiment, but let's get real." We think the best we can do is to just get onto the fringes of what Jesus is thinking. The truth be told, we just hope we can manage the Christian walk without major-ly embarrassing ourselves.

Who, after all, could know the mind of God? That's something for the saints, for the «pros.» The ancient prophet Isaiah asked a similar question: "Is there anyone around who knows God's spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 MSG)

Paul, that teacher's pet, the guy who always does his homework and raises his hand to give an answer when the rest of us are ducking down to avoid being called on – you know, that Paul – he answers Isaiah's probing question with an answer so simple it scarcely can be believed.

«Does anyone know what God is doing, or even thinking?

«Yes, Paul, I see your hand.»

«Christ knows,» says Paul, «And we have Christ's spirit within us.» (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 MSG)

Christ knows! Jesus knows. Jesus knows! He knows the mind of God. He knows the plans of God. He knows the will of God and the purposes of God. Jesus is God!

And we have the Jesus Spirit within us, the Christ Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God – dwelling right inside us, transforming us into the likeness of Christ! (Ephesians 6:17) We can aim boldly for Christ-mindedness, not just the fringes of his thoughts.

What does this mean to me?

· You can think like Jesus – Developing the mind of Christ is not impossible. In fact, it's quite probable. Start by agreeing with these Jesus thoughts: I am unwilling to do anything independently of God (John 5:3), but I am capable of doing all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).

· What would Jesus think? – Before we can faithfully consider what Jesus would do, we need to understand how he would think. Ask God to show you what he thinks about a situation you are facing, and plan according to his infinite wisdom.

· «I don't know, but Jesus knows» – You don't have to know it all, nor are you capable of really knowing it all. When you're uncertain or confused (even when you're head-strong and certain – ha!), ask the Holy Spirit to guide your path. The Holy Spirit will never direct you to violate the mind and will of God, as revealed in the Bible.

© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.