I'm not sure if any of you will remember / know the song by Keith Green 'I want to be more like Jesus'. It's old now but the truth of the lyrics still remain as valid today as they did when he wrote it .... "I want to, I need to, be more like Him". I'm going to add a link to a much newer song at the end of this message to you all, which has re-awakened the thought that it's not just about us finding and securing our identity (in Christ), or learning to trust our God more and prioritising being rooted in Him, but it's also about being more like our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ each and every day. I will always need to be more like Him, and a lot less like me!
So do we have grounds to copy Christ? Of course. It's fairly obvious if you think about the start of Christ's public ministry when He said to certain men "follow me" (Matt 4v19; Mark 2v14; Luke 5v27; John 1v43), that He was calling them to become followers of Him, to learn from, to become like Him, so that they would in turn, continue His work of reaching souls with the good news of salvation through faith.
It was a call to take off, leave behind, disregard and abandon the meaning of their lives up to that point and to put on, learn, embrace and live out Jesus Christ whom they would come to know as the Saviour of the world, God's only son. The one who would teach a new way, one without the walls and barriers of discrimination in every form. There would be no reference point to divide or assess humanity other than one simple truth and that was and is His love for every single person who has ever and will ever exist.
I find it worth thinking about that really carefully, and being able to empty any other thoughts about 'people' in general. We are all absolutely the same when it comes to God's love for us and Christ's demonstration of that love through His life, death and resurrection. There is truly nothing we can add to or take away from who we are which will change His love and the truth of His redemptive plan for us. There is nothing we can do or have done which will affect that love ... nothing!
I love this verse in Jeremiah (31v3) “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness”.
So let's move on with that amazing promise and fact in mind. If that is how Christ loves, and He commands us to "love one another; as I have loved you" (John 13v34), then we'd better jolly well do it. This is Christ centred living at its core. Reflect on His life ... how did He show this love? What characteristics did He portray? Did loving mean He was weak? Did He take time to rest? How did He prioritise His day? Who did He choose to help?
Please take your own time to ponderously read through Jesus' life again and just note down words which spring to mind when perusing. I'll share a few of mine here.
I note that Jesus often showed His love through human touch and concern (Matthew 9). He had to be near to do that. He was in the moment and could see the individual concerned (Luke 8); that meant He cared enough to notice the detail. He took time; He sought out individuals (John 4); He provided for basic human needs (Mark 6); He protected (Mark 4); He intervened against evil spirits (Matthew 8); He meted out justice; He was unafraid to speak truth (Luke 19); He socialised with many (John 2; John 12; Luke 7); He gave relief to psychological, emotional and physical ailments; He was able to restore and reward (Luke 19); He resisted temptation (Luke 4); He cared for children (Mark 10) and was not swayed by outward appearance (Mark 12).
I also note that Jesus prioritised prayer. He often took himself off alone to spend time in prayer. He advocated rest, calling his disciples to "come and rest a while" (Mark 6v31). He kept His focus true, centred on His Father's will, and was therefore able to live out with purpose, the life which He had to, to enable and secure the only possible rescue plan for fallen humankind. At the same time, He set an example to us so that we in turn, could / can be living witnesses to anyone around us of that love ... a love beyond human comprehension, a love which in its truest form should see us being a lot more like Jesus and a lot less like me.
Victor Hugo wrote: “The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved, loved for ourselves, or rather loved in spite of ourselves”. Who better to be loved by than God Himself ... therefore let us love one another.
So, come on people, we’re all just people. Let’s not see class distinctions, background, ethnicity, religion, gender, education, car type, style, friends circles, occupation, postcode, social media presence, political view or titles ... let’s just see people. Every single one, affected by the depravity of humanity and yet every single one, according to God, worth dying for!
If that’s how He sees us then let us be more like Him toward each other. The opposition won’t like it but let’s make it real from our hearts to each other, every day.
With thanks to Zach Williams for the words of this song which so aptly highlight some of the wonderful characteristics of Christ for us to imitate:
"Lets look a little more like mercy... grace... kindness... goodness... love... faith... patience... peace... more like Jesus, less like me".
https://youtube.com/watch?v=hawc0emHq8c&feature=share
With love to you all
Ingrid x
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