It was in the ’80s, and I was a traveling “salesperson” for The Pentecostal Bookstore, now owned by my parents. To ministers meeting, I would go. Motorhome, boxes of store items, and displays set up to take orders and sell. This one particular year, I followed Rev E.L. Holley as he crisscrossed Texas to sectional conferences. Other than struggling with a dying motorhome, I made 8 out of 12 conferences. Eight times I heard him speak a deeply felt message, and though the title may be history, the scriptural principle is not. In the midst of the complexity of life, he shared the Simplicity of Christ.
Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly:
and indeed bear with me.
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy:
for I have espoused you to one husband,
that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty,
so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached,
or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received,
or another gospel, which ye have not accepted,
ye might well bear with him.
(2 Corinthians 11:1-4 KJV)
Yesterday
Yesterday, we were honored to hear Rev. Jeremy Painter share a broader thought. No longer will we second guess what Jesus would do (WWJD). We would automatically do what Jesus did (DWJD). His foundation of thought is not limited to this following scripture; rather, it is the opening thought of how Paul perceived our walk with Christ to be like. We begin by imitating Him, but then we become like Him.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called:
and whom he called, them he also justified:
and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
(Romans 8:28-30 KJV) [Emphasis mine]
This Morning
This morning, my spirit, mind, and heart is feasting on the remnants of these two thoughts. Jesus tells his disciples they were no more simply followers but friends. Friends of Christ will do what they are commanded to do. When He is gone, simply becoming the imitator of Him will equate to a friendship that will produce a walk that no longer questions “what do I do,” but will do as he would.
This is my commandment,
That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants;
for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth:
but I have called you friends;
for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you,
that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:
that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
These things I command you, that ye love one another.
(John 15:12-17 KJV)
To Be Like Jesus
We sing a song from someone, possibly back in the ’60s, but it is hard to trace. It’s a general praise chorus with no particular author and possibly comes from a sermon preached and mimicking a popular song by a folk singer of the ’50s. [Source]
But I remember singing this song, generally at the end of a church service called for possibly a commitment. To be like Jesus. It’s not copyrighted, and the words are commonly adjusted to the crowd that sings it. This is my memory of the song.
To be like Jesus, To be like Jesus
On earth I long to be like Him;
All through life’s journey
From earth to glory
I only ask To Be Like Him;
Paul tags this thought which may be the foundation of the song.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
(Philippians 2:5 KJV)
Going Forward
What if we suddenly faced the ending of our life with a moment to think about how we chose to live life till now?
How much like Christ are we? Think about your actions, reactions, thoughts, and what you’ve stored up against a future day of retribution? Can you say you are an imitator of Christ? What if you suddenly changed your response to be a response like Jesus?
- It’s your imitation of Him, perhaps, writing in the sand before saying, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7)
- Then, to the sinner before him, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)
- Or suspended between two thieves, could you speak words of hope from the cross that kills? (Luke 23:43)
- Could we cry over a torn city between the past and future and wish to draw them closer? (Matthew 23:37)
- Would you dare challenge someone’s wrong stance as Jesus did Peter? Get thee behind me, Satan! (Matthew 16:23, Mark 8:33, Luke 4:8)
- Would you call someone to follow you as you follow Christ as Paul did? (1 Corinthians 11:1)
- What if that person is a “Judas”?
To be like Jesus means to “be…like…Jesus…!” Eventually, the image seen in the reflection of the imitator is not ourselves, but Christ. When Christ sees us, it’s not “me, but Him.”
Oh, to be like Jesus.
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