Be Like Jesus (Friday Devotional)

“Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”

- Philippians 2:4-8

“Be like Jesus”—whether by intuition or instruction, most believers understand that is the task of discipleship. Having lived according to your own dreams, whims, and temptations when you were apart from Christ, the follower of Jesus is called to a new life, one in which you are to be, in the language of Ephesians 5:1, an “imitator of God.”

But almost from the outset, we begin neutering this command. “Be like Jesus,” you might say, ”but if somebody hits you, you’d better show them you won’t be bullied and hit back. Be like Jesus—but stay away from certain kinds of people; you’ve got a reputation to protect. Be like Jesus—but remember, your first responsibility is to yourself.” With each “but”, you seeking a middle way between your old life and life in Christ, a compromise between sin and holiness. The way of Jesus becomes suggestion instead of command, an impossible ideal instead of the calling of every Christian. Before long, you have moved from “be like Jesus” to “be nice most of the time.”

It is perhaps with this gradual deterioration of discipleship in mind that Paul spells out what it means to approach life as Jesus did. Instead of clinging to unimaginable power, Jesus refused to see it as something to be exploited. Instead of making much of himself, Jesus emptied himself. And ultimately, instead of demanding an easier path, Jesus was obedient even to the point of painful, torturous death.

Following Jesus, we sometimes forget, is not about adhering to the cultural norms of what is right and wrong. It’s about radical, all-consuming, sacrificial love for God and people, even and especially when such love is impractical, inconvenient, and painful. Jesus did not seek a compromise between godly love and worldly acceptability, between obedience to the Father and deference to his comfort zone; he was fully devoted to exemplifying the love of God for humanity, no matter what it cost him. For any who would be his disciples, that is our task as well. “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interest of others,” Paul says.  Put another way, be like Jesus.