Last week we saw that part of what it means for us to follow Jesus is that we should reflect his life. When people look at us, they should see Jesus. That reminded me of a statement that Max Lucado makes in his book, Just Like Jesus. Max says that God loves us just the way we are, but he refuses to leave us there. He wants us to be just like Jesus. Let’s just look at that first statement for a moment. God loves us just the way we are. That is the absolute truth. God loves us just the way we are and there is nothing we can do to change that. We can’t make God love us less and we can’t make God love us any more then he does right now. If we think God would love us more if we were more faithful, we would be wrong. If we think God would love us more if we were more giving, we would be wrong. If we think God would love us more if we were more diligent in learning about him and studying his word, we would be wrong. There is absolutely nothing we can do to make God love us any more than he does at this moment. God loves us completely, abundantly and eternally, that’s what it says in Romans 8:35-39.
There is simply nothing that can separate us from the love of God and there is nothing we can do that would cause God to love us more. God loves us just the way we are, but God also loves us enough to want more for us and God knows we will experience more in life if our lives look more like the life of Jesus. That’s the message we hear often throughout the New Testament.
In Philippians 2:5 it says we are to have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. In other words, our attitudes, words and actions need to reflect those of Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has gone – it has died and passed away – and the new has come. That new creation is the life of Jesus, so if we are in Christ our lives are reflecting Jesus to the world. In Galatians 3:27 it says if we have been baptized in Christ Jesus, if we have accepted and if we believe in Jesus then we have clothed ourselves with Christ, and then Colossians 3:12 expands on this idea and says this clothing we are to put on should be compassion, kindness, humility, gentles and patience – all qualities that point to the life of Jesus. And then we heard from 1 John 3:2, when Christ appears we shall be like him. Now while that transformation of becoming like Jesus may not be complete until we are in the presence of Jesus at the end of time, our journey of faith should help us to look more and more like Jesus every day until that day comes.
All of this affirms what we heard last week, which is that for us to call ourselves followers of Jesus our lives need to reflect the life of Christ. When people look at us – they should see Jesus. When they listen to us they should hear Jesus. When they encounter us they should experience the hope, joy and love that is Jesus. Is that what people experience in us? Do people see Jesus in us? Again, from his book, Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado asks, what would it be like if for one day, Jesus became us? What if, for 24 hours, Jesus wakes up in our bed, walks in our shoes, lives in our houses, and assumes our schedules? What if for one day Jesus lived our lives with his heart? Think for a moment about what that might be like for us and for all the people around us. What would our family and friends see different about us? Would anyone notice a change? That’s the big question. Would anyone see or hear something different? If they would, then we aren’t doing a very good job of reflecting Jesus and our lives need to change.
So what is the key to looking like Jesus? What is the key to reflecting the life of Jesus? The key is to have the heart of Jesus and the heart of Jesus is pure, it is peaceful and it is patient. Look back at 1 John 3:3, Jesus is pure and if our hope is to be like Christ then we need to have a pure heart and a pure heart is a heart that is free from sin. Let’s keep reading in 1 John 3:5-6, so Jesus was without sin, which means, we need to have hearts and lives free from sin. We need to stop sinning. Do you remember what Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery? When all the people who wanted to accuse her had walked away, Jesus said, go and sin no more. I have to say that most of the time I read or talk about that passage, I tend to focus on the forgiveness and grace that Jesus offers the woman, or else I’ll talk about the challenge Jesus gives to the crowd to not judge others, but we can’t ignore this last command. Go and sin no more. I don’t think Jesus would have told her this if it were not possible. God really does want us to experience freedom from sin, and God makes this pure heart and life possible, but let’s be clear, we don’t find this kind of purity on our own. We don’t have the power to overcome sin by ourselves, but Jesus does, he lived that life and Jesus is willing to help us live that life if we will come to him and ask for help. The woman is told to go and sin no more only AFTER she has come to Jesus, so there is something important about coming to Jesus that makes this pure life possible.
The power to overcome sin comes from God and so the answer isn’t to try and overcome sin on our own, the answer is for us to stay connected to Jesus. If we will lean on Jesus, trust in is forgiveness, rely upon his grace and draw strength from his people and spirit, we can overcome the sin that clings to us so closely.
Is it easy? No. Will we stumble and fall? Yes. Will God forgive us and set us out on the path of purity once again? Yes. Can we experience little victories that will encourage us to keep going? Yes.
God wants us to experience the joy of a pure heart and life, but there is more to being just like Jesus, God also wants us to experience his peace. When the disciples were always worrying about everything – Jesus was at peace. The best example of this was when Jesus and the disciples are out in the boat during the storm. The disciples are literally afraid for their lives, but Jesus was sleeping in the back of his boat. It even says his head was on a little pillow, the picture of a man at perfect peace. This is the kind of peace Jesus wants for us in the middle of any and every storm we face. I really do believe that Jesus wants us to experience a peace that passes our understanding.
What was one of the first things Jesus said to his disciples after his resurrection? He said, peace be with you. Jesus even breathed on them and gave them the blessing, the gift of his spirit to bring that peace. God loves us when we are worried, afraid and confused in the midst of all the storms of life, but God doesn’t want to leave us in that state – God wants us to experience His peace.
We know God wants us to experience peace because Jesus said pretty clearly that we are not to worry, but I’m not sure we take that command seriously because one of the biggest problems we face today is worry. We worry about finances, our families, our marriages, jobs, health, children, the state of our country and world. We worry about everything, but Jesus said clearly, do not worry about your life. Jesus said, don’t worry about what you will eat or drink or where you live or your job and family and health. Do not worry. We hear this, but I’m not sure many of us believe that a life free from worry is possible, but why would Jesus tell us not to worry if this kind of peace were not possible? It must be possible for us to experience God’s peace if Jesus says this, but again that peace will not be found in our strength and ability, it will be found in the presence and power of God.
Peace is like purity – we can achieve it, but not on our own, it comes from trusting in God and drawing our strength and courage from one another. If our lives are going to look like Jesus we need to take seriously Jesus command to not worry about anything and learn to hand over our concerns to God in prayer and trust God love us enough to work them out according to his purpose and plan. If we can’t do this on our own, then we need to find someone who can help us hand our worries over to God so that we can experience for ourselves and share with others the peace of Christ.
The heart of Jesus was not just pure and peaceful it was also patient. The patience Jesus showed with people was remarkable. He was patient with his disciples who never seemed to quite understand what was going on. He was patient with the crowds and those who came to him for healing. He took the time to instruct them and heal them and feed them. Jesus was even patient with the religious leaders who often came to him with threats and accusations. We see that patience in the story of Nicodemus, found in John chapter 3. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who came to Jesus in the middle of the night to ask him questions. Jesus patiently listened to Nicodemus and he helped him understand what it meant to be born again. The patience Jesus showed to Nicodemus changed him. At some point in time Nicodemus accepted Jesus as the Messiah because after Jesus died it is Nicodemus who helps take Jesus body off the cross and it was Nicodemus who helped lay him in the tomb.
Jesus was patient with people and that patient heart made a difference. God is calling us to reflect that same kind of patience with people today. If we are going to reflect the life of Jesus we need to be patient with one another, and I already know what you are going to say, patience is hard. Trust me, I know! It’s as difficult as purity and not worrying, but it is what we see in Jesus and so it must be what God wants for us. Patience is something we can experience and share with others but only if we will stop trying to be patient and instead allow God’s patience to flow through us.
You begin to see the pattern here. Jesus heart is pure, and peaceful and patient and many times ours are not, but God wants them to be so God has opened the door for them to be just that. God loves us in our sin and our worries and our frustrations, but that is not the life God wants for us, God wants us to be just like Jesus so he helps us have the heart of Jesus by sending us the gift of his Holy Spirit so that through the power of God we can be, just like Jesus. As we prepare ourselves for Holy Communion, let us ask God to send us the gift of his holy spirit so that after coming to Jesus at the table, we may truly go forth to be just like him.
There is simply nothing that can separate us from the love of God and there is nothing we can do that would cause God to love us more. God loves us just the way we are, but God also loves us enough to want more for us and God knows we will experience more in life if our lives look more like the life of Jesus. That’s the message we hear often throughout the New Testament.
In Philippians 2:5 it says we are to have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. In other words, our attitudes, words and actions need to reflect those of Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has gone – it has died and passed away – and the new has come. That new creation is the life of Jesus, so if we are in Christ our lives are reflecting Jesus to the world. In Galatians 3:27 it says if we have been baptized in Christ Jesus, if we have accepted and if we believe in Jesus then we have clothed ourselves with Christ, and then Colossians 3:12 expands on this idea and says this clothing we are to put on should be compassion, kindness, humility, gentles and patience – all qualities that point to the life of Jesus. And then we heard from 1 John 3:2, when Christ appears we shall be like him. Now while that transformation of becoming like Jesus may not be complete until we are in the presence of Jesus at the end of time, our journey of faith should help us to look more and more like Jesus every day until that day comes.
All of this affirms what we heard last week, which is that for us to call ourselves followers of Jesus our lives need to reflect the life of Christ. When people look at us – they should see Jesus. When they listen to us they should hear Jesus. When they encounter us they should experience the hope, joy and love that is Jesus. Is that what people experience in us? Do people see Jesus in us? Again, from his book, Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado asks, what would it be like if for one day, Jesus became us? What if, for 24 hours, Jesus wakes up in our bed, walks in our shoes, lives in our houses, and assumes our schedules? What if for one day Jesus lived our lives with his heart? Think for a moment about what that might be like for us and for all the people around us. What would our family and friends see different about us? Would anyone notice a change? That’s the big question. Would anyone see or hear something different? If they would, then we aren’t doing a very good job of reflecting Jesus and our lives need to change.
So what is the key to looking like Jesus? What is the key to reflecting the life of Jesus? The key is to have the heart of Jesus and the heart of Jesus is pure, it is peaceful and it is patient. Look back at 1 John 3:3, Jesus is pure and if our hope is to be like Christ then we need to have a pure heart and a pure heart is a heart that is free from sin. Let’s keep reading in 1 John 3:5-6, so Jesus was without sin, which means, we need to have hearts and lives free from sin. We need to stop sinning. Do you remember what Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery? When all the people who wanted to accuse her had walked away, Jesus said, go and sin no more. I have to say that most of the time I read or talk about that passage, I tend to focus on the forgiveness and grace that Jesus offers the woman, or else I’ll talk about the challenge Jesus gives to the crowd to not judge others, but we can’t ignore this last command. Go and sin no more. I don’t think Jesus would have told her this if it were not possible. God really does want us to experience freedom from sin, and God makes this pure heart and life possible, but let’s be clear, we don’t find this kind of purity on our own. We don’t have the power to overcome sin by ourselves, but Jesus does, he lived that life and Jesus is willing to help us live that life if we will come to him and ask for help. The woman is told to go and sin no more only AFTER she has come to Jesus, so there is something important about coming to Jesus that makes this pure life possible.
The power to overcome sin comes from God and so the answer isn’t to try and overcome sin on our own, the answer is for us to stay connected to Jesus. If we will lean on Jesus, trust in is forgiveness, rely upon his grace and draw strength from his people and spirit, we can overcome the sin that clings to us so closely.
Is it easy? No. Will we stumble and fall? Yes. Will God forgive us and set us out on the path of purity once again? Yes. Can we experience little victories that will encourage us to keep going? Yes.
God wants us to experience the joy of a pure heart and life, but there is more to being just like Jesus, God also wants us to experience his peace. When the disciples were always worrying about everything – Jesus was at peace. The best example of this was when Jesus and the disciples are out in the boat during the storm. The disciples are literally afraid for their lives, but Jesus was sleeping in the back of his boat. It even says his head was on a little pillow, the picture of a man at perfect peace. This is the kind of peace Jesus wants for us in the middle of any and every storm we face. I really do believe that Jesus wants us to experience a peace that passes our understanding.
What was one of the first things Jesus said to his disciples after his resurrection? He said, peace be with you. Jesus even breathed on them and gave them the blessing, the gift of his spirit to bring that peace. God loves us when we are worried, afraid and confused in the midst of all the storms of life, but God doesn’t want to leave us in that state – God wants us to experience His peace.
We know God wants us to experience peace because Jesus said pretty clearly that we are not to worry, but I’m not sure we take that command seriously because one of the biggest problems we face today is worry. We worry about finances, our families, our marriages, jobs, health, children, the state of our country and world. We worry about everything, but Jesus said clearly, do not worry about your life. Jesus said, don’t worry about what you will eat or drink or where you live or your job and family and health. Do not worry. We hear this, but I’m not sure many of us believe that a life free from worry is possible, but why would Jesus tell us not to worry if this kind of peace were not possible? It must be possible for us to experience God’s peace if Jesus says this, but again that peace will not be found in our strength and ability, it will be found in the presence and power of God.
Peace is like purity – we can achieve it, but not on our own, it comes from trusting in God and drawing our strength and courage from one another. If our lives are going to look like Jesus we need to take seriously Jesus command to not worry about anything and learn to hand over our concerns to God in prayer and trust God love us enough to work them out according to his purpose and plan. If we can’t do this on our own, then we need to find someone who can help us hand our worries over to God so that we can experience for ourselves and share with others the peace of Christ.
The heart of Jesus was not just pure and peaceful it was also patient. The patience Jesus showed with people was remarkable. He was patient with his disciples who never seemed to quite understand what was going on. He was patient with the crowds and those who came to him for healing. He took the time to instruct them and heal them and feed them. Jesus was even patient with the religious leaders who often came to him with threats and accusations. We see that patience in the story of Nicodemus, found in John chapter 3. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who came to Jesus in the middle of the night to ask him questions. Jesus patiently listened to Nicodemus and he helped him understand what it meant to be born again. The patience Jesus showed to Nicodemus changed him. At some point in time Nicodemus accepted Jesus as the Messiah because after Jesus died it is Nicodemus who helps take Jesus body off the cross and it was Nicodemus who helped lay him in the tomb.
Jesus was patient with people and that patient heart made a difference. God is calling us to reflect that same kind of patience with people today. If we are going to reflect the life of Jesus we need to be patient with one another, and I already know what you are going to say, patience is hard. Trust me, I know! It’s as difficult as purity and not worrying, but it is what we see in Jesus and so it must be what God wants for us. Patience is something we can experience and share with others but only if we will stop trying to be patient and instead allow God’s patience to flow through us.
You begin to see the pattern here. Jesus heart is pure, and peaceful and patient and many times ours are not, but God wants them to be so God has opened the door for them to be just that. God loves us in our sin and our worries and our frustrations, but that is not the life God wants for us, God wants us to be just like Jesus so he helps us have the heart of Jesus by sending us the gift of his Holy Spirit so that through the power of God we can be, just like Jesus. As we prepare ourselves for Holy Communion, let us ask God to send us the gift of his holy spirit so that after coming to Jesus at the table, we may truly go forth to be just like him.
