Carbon Copy

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

1 John 2:6 NLT

  A short while back, Lifechurch.tv put out a great little sermon series on living like Jesus. The idea behind the series is that we have to be Christ-like in public, but also in private. The series was called "Carbon Copy". It was based on 1 John 2:6. The series started by posing this question...

 WHAT IF WE ARE MAKING IT HARDER THAN IT IS?

That's a great question, isn't it... When you think about what Jesus said in Mathew 11:29-30, you'd have to say Jesus isn't the one making it hard. Check out what he says: 

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

His yoke is easy and his burden is light!?! Then why is it so hard to live like Jesus in the world today? Why do we all struggle with doing what's right all the time? Why doesn't the world see us and say, "I want what they've got! That Jesus thing looks GREAT!"?

Truth be told, I think it's because most of us are not "Christ-like" in the truest form of the word. The way we act out our Christianity, we tend to pick and choose when we are going to display the attributes of Christ. That isn't really Christ like though, is it? Jesus didn't flip some "Messiah switch" on his back every time he was supposed to "do good". He was ALWAYS the same. It didn't matter what time it was, or who was watching. 

That should remind us of one very important part of the "Christ-like Equation"...

LIVING LIKE JESUS PUBLICLY STARTS WITH LIVING LIKE HIM PRIVATELY.

 So what do we know about Jesus' private life? We know enough to have a good place to start! Check out these verses...

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed". Luke 5:16

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." Mark 1:35

  You can be like Jesus right now. Withdraw to a quiet place and pray. Spend time alone with God. It's what Jesus would do. It's the first step to being Christ-like.