May the Mind of Christ, My Savior
Live in me from day to day
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say
I love that hymn, I love that song. And I tell you what, whenever I’m wheeling through the office, going down the hallway, or even driving down the freeway, or puttering in the backyard, sitting in the kitchen, I love to sing. I wake up in the morning – I love to sing – my heart wants to sing whenever I’m enjoying the routines of life. But have you ever wondered if Jesus sang? It’s really easy to picture him doing it -- humming a melody as he walked up the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. We know they sang in the synagogues, right? During the holy feast days, it’s obvious Jesus’ family probably sang. There must have been many, many times that the Lord’s heart filled with joy to overflowing and you just know he had to let loose with a song. So… where in the Bible does it really say that Jesus sang?
The only place it records such a time is in Matthew 26:30. Get this! The scene for the song is not on some sunny hillside… it’s not as he sailed with his disciples in the boat… it is not as he walked along the beach with his friends. No, it was in the Upper Room the night he was betrayed.
This is the way Matthew 26:30 put it, it says, “After Jesus broke the bread and offered wine, they sang a hymn and then went out to the Mount of Olives.” Wow! Of all the times and places, the Lord Jesus chose to have us remember him singing as he was led off to his death. Friend, this speaks to me, especially in my wheelchair. It shows me how to follow the Lord in song when my heart is heavy, when I’m facing hardship, disappointment, when my back aches, when I know things are not going to get better but only worse. Or maybe there is an illness on the horizon or perhaps it’s just another day of paralysis. Because as you and I follow his steps up to the Mount of Olives, into the Garden of Gethsemane, down the road to Calvary, we, too, should take up our cross and sing. Our natural inclination is not to sing when we are hurting. Yet think of the apostle Paul who sang, despite his chains, being in jail. So, friend, no matter if your emotions are up or down, would you follow the Lord's lead today? May the mind of Christ your Savior live in you from day to day. Ask God to simply put a song in your heart as today you pick up that cross – right now, today, daily – and follow him with a song.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends