“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t
have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:12
A child of God is a believer in His Son Jesus Christ by whose
death on the cross and resurrection we received atonement for our sin and are
saved to live with our Father for all eternity. (John 3: 16; Romans
10:9; Acts 16:31) God declared an
end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. (Romans 8:3-4)
Believers in Christ follow Christ’s teachings, Jesus said to the people who believed in
him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings”. John 8:31-32. By following Christ,
we obey our Father’s command to listen to “my
Son, whom I have chosen” (Luke 9:35).
However, many of us hear the Gospel and read the
Word but our lives are unchanged – we are not living like Christ so we do
not have the spirit of Christ in us to effect change. A lifestyle
patterned on Christ’s teaching makes God’s Word real so sustaining a holy
lifestyle can become second nature to us.
We must live what we are taught – we must pattern our entire
lives on Christ’s. We must I.M.I.T.A.T.E
Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1)
Idolatry – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:5. Anything we worship more than we do
our Father is an idol. Be it material possessions or prestige, worshiping the
created over the Creator is a huge roadblock to living a Christ-like life. It
is foolish to have an excessive desire for and boast about our:
- Wealth and power – When it is God who gives you power to be successful. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
- Personal stature or of physical beauty – Since we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10)
- Talent or ability – God has given us gifts and talents for doing certain things well. (Romans 12: 6-8)
- Powerful friends and acquaintances – Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? (James 2)
What do you have that
God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as
though it were not a gift? 1
Corinthians 4:7. To boast about our possessions rather than the God Who
is the source of all is to lack gratitude and humility and deny our Father the reverence due only to Him.
Unrestrained desire for worldly possession and the approval
of man blinds us totally to our true purpose in life – serving God and others.
Jesus tells us these truths about putting wealth and status before God:
- “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24
- “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Luke 18:24-25
Meekness – Blessed
are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5. To be meek
means to show humility in our relationship with others, to not think oneself to
be better. It is very easy for us to prideful in our interactions with other
people. To imitate Christ’s humility, we must see more good in others, esteem ourselves
less and others more.
- Our good deeds can cause us to feel superior to others –
God’s Word demands that we, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in
humility value others above yourselves, Philippians 2:3. It is very harmful
to think of ourselves as better than anyone – Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor. Proverbs 18:12. God judges differently
than men and what we are pleased about may not be as pleasing to Him.
- Pride in our achievements can also create feelings of superiority –
We use our intelligence and professional achievements to act
arrogantly toward others and give little consideration to the far superior benefits
our submission to Jesus Christ could contribute to others as well as to our own
lives. God wants us to be completely subject to Him and His wisdom
and not on our human wisdom. “(We) must have the same attitude that Christ
Jesus had. Though he was God, He did not think of equality with God as
something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; He took the
humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in
human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death
on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8
- Judging the deeds of others –
This behavior is also a by-product of a lack of
humility and esteeming others as less than. We frequently judge and find fault when others act in a manner other than what we wish them to be, when it would be more beneficial to us, if we were to examine our own lives and try to first correct our short-comings. Jesus teaches that we, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For
you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging
is the standard by which you will be judged….Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye…” Matthew
7:1-5.
To be continued…
Prayer and Thanksgiving: Holy Father, you are the One Eternal and Living King.
Thank you for the Living WORD, Jesus Christ our Savior, Teacher, and LORD. No one is good, except YOU alone but when we have the righteousness
of Christ by faith, we can be good and holy in Your sight. Teach us to do your
will and listen to your Chosen Son, to obey Him so the world may know through
us that You, Father are holy, and that to you belong all
dominion and power for ever and ever. We pray and ask all things in the Name of
Jesus Christ our LORD. Amen.
Always by God’s Word and prayer,
Cecile
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