More Like Jesus? It's Not What You Think! - Part III

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isa%2053:7-11&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Phil%202:5-8&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2013:3-5&version=NIV1984

For 2 days we have been looking at what it really means to become like Jesus.  Not just the good experiences but the bad experiences as well.  Not just the qualities that we are immediately drawn to but the qualities that we have a more difficult time embracing.  The problem is when it comes to ‘becoming like Jesus’ we can’t pick and chose which parts we want to emulate and which parts we want don’t want to emulate.  It is, as they say, a ‘package’ deal.  My eyes have been opened to this reality over the past couple years.

Like many of you, there have been rough stretches in my life.  Nothing cataclysmic mind you, but rough nonetheless.  Times when I wasn’t appreciated.  Or when I heard what others had said about me.  Times when my plans weren’t working out.  Times when I was sick.  Lonely.  Discouraged.  Times when God seemed distant.  Uncaring.  At times such as this I cried out to God.  And He revealed to me that I had actually prayed for the things I was going through!  Really?  “I never prayed for any of this”, I replied.  “Oh, but you did!”, He seemed to say to me.  “I have it right here.  March 20th you prayed to become like Jesus.  And again, April 16th.  Then I received the same request from you on June 6th, July 14th and twice on August 7th.  Yes, you have repeatedly prayed for the things you are going through!”  Ouch!  I had never looked at it this way before.  You see, I expected that when I prayed to ‘become like Jesus’ that God was going to magically transform me.  That it was going to be instant.  Painless.  Simple.  It’s not.

So before we pray to become like Jesus I think we need to pause.  To pause and reflect just exactly what it is that we are asking for.  To consider the answer to the following questions.  If we really want to become like Jesus are we ready to be misunderstood by others?  A spouse?  A child?  A co-worker?  A friend?  Are we OK with them thinking that we are ‘holier-than-thou’?  Or that we have gone off the deep end?  Or have taken this ‘religious thing’ too far? 

Are we willing to be betrayed?  By someone close to us?  Someone whom we trusted?  Someone whom we poured our hearts out to?  Someone whom we thought was a friend?  Are we willing to be denied?  To see friends and loved ones walk away from us?  To say that they never really loved us in the first place?  Are we prepared to be humiliated?  To be made fun of?  To become the butt of jokes?  To have people do so in public?  For everyone to see?

Are we willing to be rejected?  To be mistreated?  To be publicly taunted?  Are we willing to humble ourselves?  To let others go first?  To quietly let others receive the credit for things that we have done?  Are we willing to serve others?  Not just when it’s convenient but also when it’s inconvenient?  Not just when we want to but also when we don’t want to?  Are we willing to sacrifice?  Our time?  Money?  Possessions?  Opportunities?  Reputation?  Our lives?

Wow.  These are very heavy questions.  I would dare say that these are things that we never considered when we prayed to become like Jesus.  But they are questions that need to be asked.  And thought about.  There is a very good reason why Jesus said that if anyone would come after Him that they must first “deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Me.”  You see, becoming like Jesus is serious business.  It’s not a bed of roses.  It’s a cross.  And a crown of thorns.

So, by all means, we should pray to be like Jesus.  I don’t want to discourage anyone from praying that prayer!  But, by the same token, I think we ought to carefully consider what we are really praying for.  And to consider just what the answer to our prayer might really look like.  This way we won’t be upset and accuse God when life gets rough.  We will accept it.  Why, we might even embrace it.  Because we will realize that we prayed for it.  That it is all a part of ‘becoming like Jesus’.  And that is a good thing.  A very good thing.  It is what God has destined for us.  Who we were created to be - like Jesus!

Lord, my eyes have been fully opened to the what becoming like Jesus really means.  I understand the difficulty, suffering and hardship that may be involved at times.  That it is not a bed of roses.  But a cross and a crown of thorns.  Yet I pray that prayer anyway.  I pray it with sincerity.  With passion.  Help me to become like Jesus.  In His name, Amen.