“My dear children, I write this to you so that you
will not sin. But if anybody does sin,
we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense- Jesus Christ, the
righteous One. He is the atoning
sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but for the sins of the whole
world.
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The
man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the
truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love
is truly made complete in him. This is
how we know we are in him: Whoever
claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. ” I John 2:1-6
One of the great mysteries in the Word of God to
me is our position in Christ. When we
come to salvation, Jesus comes to live in
our hearts. As a Christian we become a
part of the body of Christ. (All Christians make up that body, with Christ
as the head.) When we receive Jesus as
our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us. When we ask
Jesus us to, he baptizes us in the
Holy Spirit. So to recap, we are in
Jesus and he is in us. We are in the
Spirit and he is in us.
So having said all of that, today’s verse talks
about how we can know we are in him. If
we do what Jesus did, we are living in him.
When one of our sons was little, I got so tickled watching him. My husband was outside talking to another man. Our little guy was standing right by
him. If Daddy leaned one elbow on the
truck, he leaned one elbow on the truck.
When my husband gestured with his hand, my son gestured with his pudgy
little hand. He was a mini replica of
Daddy. If we are following Jesus, we
will look like it.
Another analogy of this verse can be seen in our relationships
with our friends. I have noticed that my
relationships with my friends are very individual. We have inside jokes and terms that we use
with each other that would not make sense to someone else. Why?
Because we pick up things from each other. They change me and I change them. We become like those that we are around
most. You cannot hang out in the world,
but act like Jesus. You have to hang out
with him. Listen to him, talk with him
and have shared experiences with him before he begins to shape your life. If no one knows you are a Christian, you need
to invest in more time spent with Jesus.
The final question is how did Jesus walk? He
walked to where hurting people were, and he befriended them. He saw people’s need and was moved to
compassion. He taught them, provided for
them, delivered them, healed them and established relationships with them. If we are to be like Jesus in this world we
have to care about those who are in need.
We have to be the hands of compassion outstretched. A Christian who is not giving of themselves,
their time, their resources, is honestly no Christian at all. Because to be
Christ-like means to be like Christ. To
feel like him; to act like him; and to love like him!
Lord, show me where I am failing in my life to
emulate you. Thank you for coming to
live in me and to allow me to be in the Family of God. Help me to resemble the Father. In Jesus’
Name. Amen.
Sherri
