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By J. Adam Tyler
Guest Columnist

On Monday, April 21, Pope Francis died. The first pope from the Americas, Francis brought to his leadership a humility, joy, and grace that undergirded his compassion and support for matters of justice. I, like many others outside the fold of the Catholic Church, admired Pope Francis, and he inspired me in my own ministry and life of faith.

As I read the coverage of Francis’ passing on Monday morning, I ran across a prayer that he learned from his grandmother while a boy in Argentina: “Jesus, make my heart like yours.” This more informal variation of a prayer found in Catholic liturgy and in the prayers of saints and orders of the church struck me as a prayer very much for our time.

What would the world look like if we prayed this prayer, and let God work to actually answer it?

What if, in our homes and families, we loved our husbands or wives with the heart of Jesus? What if we loved our children with the heart of Jesus, what if we loved our parents and our siblings with the heart of Jesus?

What if, in our businesses and workplaces, we acted with hearts like Jesus in our interactions with our coworkers, our employees, our employers, our customers?

What if, in our friendships and our acquaintances, we let the heart of Jesus guide us in how we spoke to one another, how we cared for one another?

What if, in our public activities, our Saturdays on the ballfield, our trips to the grocery store, our participation in civic organizations, we let the heart of Jesus enliven us and empower us?

What if, in our churches and congregations, we oriented our preaching and teaching and planned our missions and programming around the heart of Jesus?

What if, in our political speech and voting patterns, our support for parties and expectations of government, we centered ourselves not in what we want, but what the heart of Jesus wants?

How different would our world be? How different would our nation, our state, our town be? How different would we be?

In the letter Paul wrote to the Philippian church, he tells his friends, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,” going on to describe the sacrificial love of Jesus that exhibited itself through his humility and his obedience to God, even though that obedience led to a cross. When we have the same mind, or heart, of Christ, we find that we begin to act in love and with compassion in more and more parts of life. This not only exhibits our devotion to our Lord, it also enhances his love for the people around us, especially those most in need of that loving care. The more people who pray this prayer, the better our world is. So let us pray, “Jesus, make my heart more like yours.” Amen.

REV. DR. J. ADAM TYLER is the senior pastor for Farmville Baptist Church, and he can be reached by email at pastor@farmvillebaptist.org.