Imitating Jesus

             For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:29)

 The exercise for today is to list things to do that you know are Christlike. Of course, once you list them, you’re supposed to practice them, because that’s how we can contribute to becoming conformed to the image of his Son. The first things that come to mind are the things I listed yesterday that God wants me to do: to love, trust, follow, talk to, enjoy (rejoice!), and thank God; to love others and be gracious and generous to them; to love myself (properly), to die to myself daily, and to procrastinate procrastinating. But to stop there would be cheating.

Here are a few other ideas:

Love (and therefore Jesus) is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, doesn’t dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, and never fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-10)

The fruit of the Spirit must also be the fruit of Christ, so to be like Jesus, we need to have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (Hebrews 5:8)

And one that isn’t expressly stated, but is likely to be a challenge for us all – to be available to people and to pay attention to them.

And if “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,’” then He must have believed that it was true. What would it look like if we believed it, too?

As I continue to think about this, the one that seems to be a broken record in my mind is to be available and pay attention. That's probably because Dallas Willard said that these are keys to loving. But this is also where I hit the internal brakes. Be available how? To everyone? All the time? Pay attention? To everyone? All the time? Are there no limits? 

Two factors come to mind. The first is that most of the time, Jesus was available to those who sought Him. He put Himself in places so He was available - like the well in Samaria where the woman found Him, or the city where the Syro-Phoenician woman found Him. But He left cities where He could have done more good. He went off by Himself to pray. He withheld Himself from people who weren't ready. "First let me go bury my father..." (Matthew 8:21.)  As far as we can tell, He didn't make Himself available to the Aztecs, Incas, or Masai when He walked the Earth. 

The second factor is the parable of the talents. Jesus was Jesus. The King gave Him ten billion talents to  use (so to speak.) I am I. I probably have more talents than I like to think I have, but in comparison to the talents Jesus had - well, there is no comparison. I can't heal the sick, raise the dead, cause the blind to see, cause the lame to walk or die to save anyone from their sins. 

Judges 6:14 comes to mind. "Go in the strength you have." This isn't about me performing miracles. This is about me doing what I can with what I have for those who seek (or even appear to seek) something I can give. 

To me, what I've just written sounds like I'm trying to weasel out of doing anything for anyone, but my point to myself is this - it's not all or nothing, and it's not "do yourself harm or you're not good enough."  It doesn't mean spending ten minutes or an hour with each person I see each day.  It might mean making extra Johnny Jump-Up jam or jelly to share with someone who feels down. It might mean a smile, or advising senior citizens to shop at the garden center on Tuesdays, when they get a discount. Or, it might involve more - but the point of availability is to be available if wanted or needed, and not freaking out when one is sought out - or is not.