Ever felt you just weren’t good enough? You want to be a better person but just can’t seem to get there. Have people told you that you should be more like Jesus? Maybe your Christian friends say your actions are not very Christlike.
Or maybe your religion has driven you to your knees, leaving you feeling like nothing more than an unworthy piece of humanity. These are not extreme examples. Unfortunately, these are judgments we hear quite frequently from individuals and church pulpits.
Okay, so I should be more like Jesus, more Christlike. Tell me, how do I get there? In in this blog post, I will share 4 steps that will be helpful to you on your journey toward being more Christlike. These steps have been so important in my own life and I hope you will be blessed by them too.
I
1. Get On Board With Being Reborn
–Begin the journey now by accepting Jesus into your life
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Ever rode the subway in New York, Boston, Washington? If so, then you know that taking that one wrong car on that one wrong platform will not get you to where you want to go.
It’s much the same with finding and accepting Jesus. You got to be on the right track going toward the Jesus folks. You’ll find them standing by the pond waiting to dunk you so that you can become a Jesus follower too. In and out. Baptized by water and the Holy Spirit.
This is a good first step if you have any idea of changing your life and finding peace and contentment. The road to transformation begins with rebirth.
So you get out of the pond, someone hands you a towel, you dry off and you say,”Wow! Now I’m like Jesus, huh?” Whoa! Wait a minute. Yeah, you’ve been baptized into Christ, you’ve been forgiven a lot of things and you got a great shot at eternal life.
But if you want to be like Jesus, you’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Better get moving and get learning.
Rebirth to transformation. A process. A chance at a better life. One step at a time.
2. Know That You Are Not God
-Be Real and Vulnerable. Acknowledge your shortcomings.
Some people come across as thinking they are God-that they can do anything they “feel” is good and just. Doesn’t need to be biblical, just needs to feel right to them. If they accomplish their goal, they are usually filled with pride or hubris.
Hubris was in Greek mythology referred to as “unhealthy” or “deadly” pride.
So what are some of the characteristics that should alert you to the possibility that maybe you aren’t God? Here are a few. These are not written just for your benefit. Below are some traits and character defects that I have struggled with over my 80 years on the planet.
I have been: an angry man, a braggart, a drunk, prideful, a thief, a con man, arrogant, unfaithful, disloyal, disrespectful, conceited, unreliable, lustful, jealous, envious, manipulative and a complete and total jerk that no one wanted to be around.
Is that enough for you? If you can tag one or two of these to yourself, you might want to hit the pause button and reflect a bit.
After you realize you have 1 or 2 character defects (or 10….or 20), you might want to share them with others. Being real and vulnerable and transparent is the way to experience freedom. You don’t need to hide your flaws and defects of character.
God already knows them. The road to being transformed lies not in “being good” but in “doing good.”
Sharing your struggles and victories will help others to open up their hearts to the healing that can come through knowing Jesus.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
3. Don’t Become Behavior Focused
-See yourself trough the eyes of Jesus
Proverbs 4:25, NLT Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
The redeemed life is not about being a good person but more so about doing good for others. So don’t lose sight of the trail you are embarking on by asking yourself questions like, “Am I good enough to be a child of God?” or “Do I do the right things?” “Will I fail?”
Yes you are good enough. Accept that you won’t always do what is right. And, yes, there are times you will fail.
But know that Jesus walks through all those doubts and tough times with you. Right along side of you. He loves you just as you are. Let him calm your fears and pick you up when you fall.
Trust in him.
Don’t become so focused on you own behaviors that it becomes all about you. That can lead to despair and doubt. You may not see yourself worthy in your own eyes.
Try looking through the lens of Jesus’ eyes and see you as he sees you-as a person fearfully and wonderfully made, a person so full of potential to be Christlike, as a worthy child of the living God.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10
4. Focus On God’s Kingdom
-Be aware of all forms of distraction
1 Corinthians 7:35 Modern English Version (MEV)35 I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.
It's sometimes difficult not to get caught up in the matters of the world
we live in. There are many good things the world has to offer but when
any of these good things becomes an ultimate thing, they demand our
attention and time. We become obsessed with them and they become
like idols to us.
And we lose sight of what God really wants us to attend to-the fulfillment of shalom. Shalom. That promise of wholeness and peace. We need to focus on God’s word and his will if we want to achieve Shalom.
In the Merriam-Webster, focus is defined as:
1a: a center of activity, attraction, or attention; the focus of the meeting was drug abuse put immigration into focus as a hot topic for commentators; a point of concentration
2: directed attention : EMPHASIS:The focus is on helping the homeless.
3a: DIRECTION sense:the team lost focus
b: a state or condition permitting clear perception or understanding tried to bring the issues into focus
c: adjustment for distinct vision also : the area that may be seen distinctly or resolved into a clear image
This tells us where we need to focus our attention, our directed attention. To bring the Kingdom to its full glory we must:
-Recognize the polarity of God’s Kingdom and the present world system.
-Pray for the shalom that Jesus proclaimed.
-Work toward freeing humanity from slavery and bondage.
-Pray for distinct vision, for a clear image of the kingdom Jesus envisioned.
-Challenge the accepted social and religious norms.
-Help others understand that the kingdom is an “upside-down Kingdom.”
-Realize that the kingdom will bring peace and order to the chaos in this world.
-Be disciplined and persevere.
Matthew 6:10 – Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.
Shalom in these present times seems almost an impossible task but we must move forward in bringing peace and justice to this world. I pray every night for God’s Holy Spirit to descend on every people in every nation on this globe.
And to allow ourselves to be pulled away by distracting messages and causes is to allow evil and injustice to further permeate the world. The Bible tells us that evil and injustice will always be with us but that does not mean we become complacent and allow the enemy to reign his havoc and chaos on us as he pleases.
There is work to be done and each one of us has a major part to play.
Recognize your distractions
Refocus your attention on bringing Jesus’ Kingdom Message to the least, the lost and the last. Give the gift of Jesus to those who suffer, whether it be from hunger, homelessness, addiction, abuse, loss of job, etc. Here is where you will discover the true meaning of transformation.
Of heart. Of soul. Of being
