“May The Mind Of Christ My Savior” - Kate B. Wilkinson

1859–1928

Christians often seek a greater experience of God. They want more joy, an extra blessing, or a more serious commitment. At various points in history, groups of believers have gathered around this search for something extra. In the late 1800s, the Keswick Convention in England was promoting the “Higher Life,” as they called it. Kate Wilkinson, an Anglican involved in a ministry to girls in West London, often attended Keswick meetings.

The longing for a higher level of Christianity can get tricky, however. It quickly devolves into a focus on our own works as we discipline ourselves to be better Christians through study and obedience. While Scripture does call for study and obedience, it also emphasizes God’s work in transforming us. The spiritual disciplines seem to be merely a matter of putting ourselves in a position to receive God’s work of renewal.

Kate nicely captures this sense of openness in her hymn “May the Mind of Christ My Savior.” Its opening lines seem to be a reflection on Philippians 2:5—“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (NIV).

In this hymn, Kate explores what it means to have the mind of Christ. She wants his love and power to control all she does and says. Echoing Colossians 3:14-16, she wants the Word of Christ to dwell richly in her heart, Christ’s peace to rule everything in her life, and the love of Jesus to fill her. This is not a determination to be more religious; it’s a prayer for Christ to do his work within us.

Some modern folks might take issue with a line in her fourth verse: “Him exalting, self abasing, This is victory.”

Wait—what? Self-abasement? That can’t be right, can it? To abase is to degrade or belittle, to put down. In our age of self-esteem, are we really expected to put ourselves down?

Consider the Philippians 2 passage, which says Christ made himself like a servant and humbled himself so that he could be obedient to God’s will. This is certainly what Kate was getting at. Our goal is not to be “great Christians,” but to honor the Lord with our lives, and to let his presence fill us.

The LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.

Psalm 149:4