To be like Christ means to mimic His actions, words, and attributes. There are three things for us to consider as we try to mimic, or be like, Christ.
- We need to learn to think as He thinks. (See Philippians 2:5)
- We need to learn to do as He does. (See Ephesians 5:1.)
Jesus is God. (See John 10:30.) What is it that we should imitate? His intentionality. He was intentional to love, serve, and instruct people in ways that pointed them to the Father. Christ also listened to people well and acted on what they said, instead of reacting to what they said. - We need to learn to love as He loves. (See Ephesians 5:2 and John 15:12.)
How is it that Christ loved us? Sacrificially! This is how we are to love others—by giving of ourselves to meet the needs of those around us physically, mentally, and spiritually, just as Christ did.
A phrase that Jesus used approximately 20 times in the Gospels is, “Follow Me”. One of Jesus’ desires is that we would follow, come after, and imitate Him so that others would see Him and desire salvation too. Christ said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” May we strive to be like Christ so much that we, too, can say the same thing.
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