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Sunday, 04 September 2011 10:18 |

In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.

- Philippians 2:5

What I really love about this verse is that it reminds us that it's about our thoughts and not just our actions. I got to see the true meaning of this over the summer on our mission trip to New York City.

On Monday morning, my 7 kids, other chaperone, and I piled into our 15 passenger van and drove from Washington Heights over to the Bronx. We were probably all feeling a little apprehensive and unsure about how things would go. My contact from LSS:NY showed up and took all of us up to the apartment we'd be painting for new refugee families. We rode the elevator to the top floor of the apartment building and walked into a huge unit.

The apartment had 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, 2 living rooms, and many hallways. Every surface had been painted originally (face plates, outlets, heat registers, etc.), which meant that we would have to do the same thing. We looked at the task before us, and knew we only had a few days. I honestly think it was a bit overwhelming.

That first day went alright. We painted a decent amount. And no one was crabby about it. However, I think the work wasn't necessarily our first priority.

Later that night, we did a devo based on the Philippians verse. And the next day, we spent the entire day moving furniture. It was a lot of work, but the really cool part about it was that we all got to meet some of the refugee families that LSS:NY helps. Not the same families who would be living in the apartment we were painting, but I think it put faces to what we were doing just the same.

On day three, we were back in the apartment painting all day. The difference in attitudes was almost tangible. I was almost in tears by the end of the day because I was so proud of my kids. They got so much done! It was awesome to see the transformation...in the apartment and in their hearts.

They say that actions speak louder than words, and I think that's very true. But going beyond that, I think that attitude speaks louder than actions.

You can't always change your circumstances, but you can always change your attitude. You can't always change the things that happen to you, but you can always change the way you look at them.

Being like Jesus is not just about doing things that Jesus did, or what you think He would do now. It's always about doing things with the same attitude, mind, and heart that Jesus had, and would have today.

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