What bothered me was not that I hadn’t “arrived,” but that I wasn’t even heading in the right direction.
I hadn’t made it my goal to resemble Christ. I wasn’t striving to become the kind of person who could be mistaken for Jesus Christ. Isn’t it ironic that a man can be known as a successful pastor, speaker, and CHRISTian even if his life doesn’t resemble Christ’s?
1 John 2:6 “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
When John made that statement, he wasn’t speaking about how to be a church leader or even how to be a “good” Christian. He merely stated that anyone who calls himself Christian must live like Jesus did.
So how did Jesus live?
You could make a list of character traits to compare yourself to, but it would be far more beneficial to simply read through one of the Gospels. After you get a bird’s-eye view of the life of Christ, do the same with your own. Are you comfortable with the similarities and differences?
It’s easy to get caught up in the pursuit of “success” as American churchgoers define it. The thought of being well known and respected is alluring. There have been times when I’ve been caught up in the fun of popularity. I’ve even mistaken it for success. Biblically, however, success is when our lives parallel Christ’s.
Truth is there are many good Christs that you’ll never read about in a magazine. They are walking as Jesus walked, but they are too focused and humble to pursue their own recognition.
May we make it our goal to someday have someone say of us: “The day/hour/15 minutes I spent with ______ was the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to walking with Jesus.”
As Christians in America, we often complain about how antagonistic people are toward Christ. Personally, I’m not sure that Americans are really rejecting Christ.
Maybe they just haven’t seen Him.
