Walk Like Christ Today

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

If Christ packed up and left your life today – would you notice He was gone? Would others notice in you He was gone?

I heard a pastor say this years ago and it had an impact. What DO others see in me? Do they see me looking like my Savior; acting like my Savior; walking and talking like Him? Some very important questions. Like Paul said in the verse above we are now crucified with Christ so it is Christ that lives in me and I have to do what HE would want me to do. But what exactly is that?

The most important way to see what Christ would look like through us is to study His life. He exemplified all that we should be.

LOVE THE UNLOVABLE

Do you remember how unlovable you were before you found Christ? As Christians, we can still be unlovable and need some grace. What did Jesus say? John 15:12, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” So, did Christ love you in your wretched state? Yes, He did. We need to look for those who are unlovable and love on them. We need to remind ourselves we were once there and reach out to them. Loving doesn’t mean enabling them in sin but showing them mercy and grace through the loving power of Jesus and His redeeming blood.

FORGIVE FREELY

Giving forgiveness is so difficult, isn’t it? I know! I have had to forgive when I didn’t want to forgive. Forgiveness is tricky because some people believe you forgive even if the person isn’t repentant and asks for it. I believe you can’t give forgiveness until the person asks for it but you can live in a state of forgiveness. What does this mean?

Prepare your heart now to be able to forgive them when they ask for it. Live with no bitterness or hatred. Colossians 3:13 reminds us, “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” Christ didn’t forgive our sins until we asked but He forgave and loved us. This is how we must live as we live like Christ.

CHOOSE JOY

You all know this is my theme. I’d like to say I display it all the time. There are days when I slip and have to remind myself that I’m still choosing joy no matter what comes along my path. It is a conscious choice to choose joy and show joy daily but we can do it. Christ was so hated and yet He chose joy. Psalm 5:11 says, “But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.” Ever shout!

You have reason to be joyful every moment of every day. I have reason to be joyful. The Lord God defends us! Do I need to worry about who is against me? NO! I choose joy because I know my God will stand up for me. Walking and talking like Christ means choosing joy daily. No one is going to want to listen to a sour, sad Christian!

A SPIRIT OF GRACE

Micah 6:8 is another one of my favorite verses. In it the prophet says, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Did God show us grace? If we can just do these three things in this verse, we could help set this world on fire for God. Let’s do justly to people by meeting them where they are at and building them up in the Lord. We can love mercy and reach out to those in need and we can walk humbly with God, reminding ourselves that it is God that works in us!

SPIRIT CONTROLLED

When you read about Jesus’ walk here on this earth, you read how He encountered all kinds of evil men who attempted to get Him to “lose His cool”. He didn’t. He was Spirit-controlled. We teach kids to be self-controlled and not steal a cookie or just write all over themselves etc., right? In our home, we have always said, “Spirit-controlled” because in and of ourselves we can not have self-control.

We need the Spirit of God for our help. “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;” Ephesians 3:16. If we are strengthened by the inner man by the Holy Spirit then we will be controlled by the Spirit. This is a good thing. We will look and act like Christ if we have His Spirit controlling us.

BE HOLY

Holiness means, “set apart”. If the world sees us talking like them and walking like them; if they see us dressing like them and going to the same ungodly places as them; will they think we are Christ-like? We are called to be peculiar. I Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;”

We can not praise God with one hand while doing ungodly things with the other! Webster’s Dictionary defines “peculiar” as: characteristic of only one person, group, or thing: distinctive. That’s pretty easy to understand. If we are to be Christ-like and if we are truly children of God then we are in a group that is peculiar and must be distinct. Glorify God by showing others they would like to have what you have in your spirit.

So, being Christ-like has many many elements and ways. These are but a few. They aren’t hard to follow or leave us empty and feeling void. On the contrary, to be Christ-like and allow others to see Jesus in you is to be full of freedom and grace. The joy that comes with it, is truly amazing! What love we can then show the lost world around us.

Can others see Jesus in you? Listen here to this beautiful song.

Christ Je­sus hath tri­umphed o’er Sa­tan and death,
And now, praise His name, I am free.
Although He has gone to the Fa­ther’s right hand,
May oth­ers see Je­sus in me.
May oth­ers see Je­sus in me;
May oth­ers see Je­sus in me;
For how will the lost know of Je­sus
If they can­not see Je­sus in me?

O will you give heed to the mes­sage to­night,
And to your com­mis­sion be true?
Are you rep­re­sent­ing the Sav­ior aright,
Can oth­ers see Je­sus in you?
Can oth­ers see Je­sus in you?
Can oth­ers see Je­sus in you?
For how will the lost know of Je­sus
If they can­not see Je­sus in you?

The har­vest is plen­te­ous, the fields they are white,
Alas! for the la­b’rers are few.
’Tis far bet­ter not to pro­fess Je­sus’ name,
If the world ca­nnot see Him in you.
Can oth­ers see Je­sus in you?
Can oth­ers see Je­sus in you?
For how will the lost know of Je­sus
If they fail to see Je­sus in you?