It’s Friday…Are You Up For It?

What is Jesus like? Forget the Hollywood portrayals – they are only guessing about His expressions, movements, and morals. What did He say about Himself in Scripture? According to His words and His deeds, what is He like? He prefers forgiveness over condemnation; He is merciful to those in all sorts of pain; He hates hypocrisy and loves humility; He welcomes those who are honest about who they are and honest about who He is; He does amazing works and encourages His followers to do the same; and He loves the Word of God. There is much more we could say, but that’s a good start. And if we call Jesus, Teacher, we are committing to a lot: We must be like Him.

“Everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40)

Is that frightening or exciting to you? If you’re honest, it’s probably some of both. We want to be fully trained, in theory, but if we get a good look at the finished product, we know it’s a different sort of life than we first expected. It’s the life of Jesus: loved for its simplicity and strength, hated for penetrating Truth and a radical departure from social norms. But it’s a godly life. As His students, followers, we want that. We must. We wouldn’t continue in His Word if we didn’t.

Did we choose to follow Jesus just to become better or to become new? We may have a clear assumption of what a good follower is. Let’s scrap it. That’s not necessarily the model Jesus puts before us. He puts Himself before us and says, “This is what you will be like if you continue with Me and allow Me to fully train you. You will be different, and you will be good, you will be both loved and hated; and you will be both blessed and crucified” (Galatians 2:20). 

Let’s not expect our Teacher to train us toward our own objectives: a comfortable life, exemption from pain, a just above average morality. Let’s expect Him to train us for battle and for glory. It’s His divine challenge. Are You Up For It?

Have a fulfilling weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who love to be  taught and trained by Him. They have tried other “teachers” and have been sorely disappointed in finding their reason for living. They have learned that Jesus is the real deal and worth emulating.

All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)