Jump Start # 793

Romans 8:29 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren”

God has a plan for you. His plan is not so much that you go to this school or that school. It is not so much that you work with numbers or that you work with your hands. It is not so much that you live in the mid-west or that you live overseas. God’s plans for you are much larger than that. God has a plan for your heart and your destiny. You can fulfill God’s plan while being a student or a stay-at-home-mom or retired or single or married. God expects and wants you to live the life that He has planned. It is the best life that you can possibly live.

We have been doing a series for several days about what God expects. We now have come to the last of this series. What we have seen is that God expects us to be strong, faithful, obedient, worshipping, influencing and manifesting a heart of quality and character. All of these lessons can be found in our verse today. The sum total of what God expects of you, the bottom line, as they say, is for you to be like Jesus. That is a grand task. Jesus was the greatest. No one cared as much as Jesus did. No one forgave as much as Jesus did. No one was more obedient, faithful, prayerful, honest, holy and perfect as Jesus was. There is no topping Jesus. God wants us to be conformed to the image of Jesus.

Other passages teach this as well:

• 1 Pet 1: 15 “But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior”
• Eph 5:1 “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children”
• Phil 2:5 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus”
• 1 Pet 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps
• Eph 4:32 “And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

Be like Jesus. So simple, yet so hard to do. When we have said something cruel, our hearts remind us, “Is that what Jesus would have said?” When we are tired and want to quit, we think, “Is that what Jesus did?”

There is no greater call than to simply be like Jesus. This is what God expects of each of us. God wants you to be like Jesus. When dealing with others, be like Jesus. When upset, be like Jesus. When tempted, be like Jesus. We wonder how many arguments, how many church fights, how many broken homes would have been different if everyone acted like Jesus. Jesus prayed. Jesus was a person of God’s book. Jesus was honest. Jesus cared. Being like Jesus kills selfishness. Being like Jesus invites, accepts and helps. Being like Jesus—nothing greater could be said of you.

Being like Jesus is not stuffy, stale nor a killjoy. Being like Jesus enjoys life. Being like Jesus brings life, hope and freshness to a world that has lost value, purpose and joy. Being like Jesus changes conversations. Being like Jesus is noticed by others. Being like Jesus will find people coming to you for help. Being like Jesus gives you confidence. Being like Jesus answers many things in your mind and heart. Being like Jesus is the task that every eldership has as they try to shepherd God’s people. Being like Jesus is the conclusion of every sermon that preachers preach. At the end of our journey, if it can be said that we were like Jesus, we have done well.

God expects this. It is not easy. Some days we act and think more like Satan’s child than God’s child. We recognize those moments. We put the brakes on what we are doing, thinking and saying and remind ourselves, “Be like Jesus.” We apologize. We learn. We jump back into life with more zest and earnestness to be like Jesus.

If this is the grandest of all things, being like Jesus, then spending time with the Gospels ought to be one of our greatest endeavors in study and life. Learn from Me, is what Jesus said in Matthew. Learn compassion. Learn faithfulness. Learn prayerfulness. Learn honesty. Learn to stand upon God’s word. Learn obedience. Learn joy.

Just like Jesus…that thought must ever be present. When surfing the internet, “just like Jesus.” When driving, “Just like Jesus.” When in a heated business meeting, “Just like Jesus.” That thought..that ideal…that concept…that is what God wants. That is what God expects. No one among us would dare say, “I have it. I’m there.” That proclamation alone would show that he did not have humility like Jesus. No, we are not there. No, we don’t have it yet. I’ve found through the years that it is not only a process, but it is a layered process. Some parts we do well. Some not so well. Some parts we understand. Some we don’t. It is a journey. It is a walk. It is a walk with the Savior.

God wants you to be conformed to the image of Jesus. What do you need to work on first? Language? Attitude? Worship? Compassion? Forgiving? Purity? There are many layers. Be like Jesus covers all of them. In all areas, be like Jesus.

Paul told the Corinthians, “we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image…” (2 Cor 3:18).

Just like Jesus…it is more than things you do, it is becoming. Be holy is what Peter said. Be…Be like Jesus. Inside and out. Sunday and Saturday. At home and on vacation. In buying and in selling. When I’m young and when I’m old.

Be like Jesus! That’s it.

(This series of seven lessons is being put together in a booklet entitled, “God’s Expectations.” If you would like one (or more) drop me an email: Rogshouse@aol.com).

Roger