The atttitude of Jesus

I’ve asked my students to write a short essay on living with Jesus’ attitude, so I thought I’d post an example of what I’m looking for (this is on the short side of what’s assigned, but it’s enough to get the idea):

“What does it mean for me to live with the attitude of Jesus?” I suppose it means that as much as possible, my thoughts, feelings, reactions, etc. are His. It means that my perspective on life is seen through His eyes. I can tend to get a little cynical sometimes, my outlook a little bleak. Sometimes I see situations that are obviously messed up and doubt that there’s anything I or anyone else can do to make them better. A lot of people don’t really want to ‘get well’. That can be very discouraging for me.

But when I have the attitude of Jesus, my perspective changes. Flickers of hope begin to melt away my cynicism. I come to understand that my job isn’t to make things better, but to “awaken possibilities” within others – to take a spark of life near enough to them that they will be driven to seek out the Source of that Life.

This means that people are not seeking out me. It’s not relationship with me that they need. They’re looking beyond me, through me, to see the One whose attitude I reflect. And that’s ok. Having Jesus’ attitude means I don’t want their attention to get stuck on me. I want to direct their attention to God, our Father. If that means being ignored and taken for granted, I can live with that. Jesus’ attitude says, “Life is not about me.”

Jesus set aside everything for the sake of others. He humbly laid down His right and privilege in order to serve humanity. If I’m going to have His attitude, I will be willing to do the same.

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