Really You

“And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” Paul from 1 Corinthians 11:1

It has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, human beings are a very flattering group. All of us spend so much time trying to act like someone else. We style our hair to match our favorite actor... buy shoes to help us dunk like LeBron... maybe even change the way we speak to better blend in to our workspace or family. Sometimes we are imitating without even realizing it. The mannerisms we picked up from mom... the quick temper of our dad... the calming attitude of grandma... sharing the wisdom of grandfather. All of these are a part of who we are... they are the “us” that people see...

Unfortunately, however, through all of these imitations... sometimes we forget who we really are. We’ve been playing the part so long we don’t remember what our face looks like without the mask on it. Who we were created to be is lost and replaced with who we think others want to see.

There’s an often-repeated story of a contest that happened long ago. Famed actor, Charlie Chaplin entered a Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest. He came in third.

Sometimes people can’t recognize the real thing anymore. When you want to be the real you... you can’t. You have a part you must play... happy wife, content husband, vigilant employee, concerned brother, deep thinker, party guy... the list goes on. The real you has been replaced by an unrecognizable facsimile. You were created for more.

You were made by God to be special, unique, and wonderfully knitted together. Instead of imitating others... God wants us to imitate Him. When we do this, we maintain our personal identity, help others to see the risen Christ in us, and grow to reach our God-potential. How do we learn how to act like God? Read His word, stay plugged in to His church, and lean on close Christian friends that will hold you accountable if you try to become anyone other than Christ.

Let’s make every effort to make the real us reflect the real Christ. It is my prayer that someday you will be able to say the same thing as Paul did in today’s verse... imitate me because, in doing so, you will be acting just like Jesus.

The Real Story

Xiang Junfeng’s wedding was an incredibly special day in her life.  So much so that each day she gets up and puts on her wedding dress… or one of her other wedding dresses… and spends the entire day in it.  When asked why she does this, she says that the gown represents the proudest day in her life and wearing it reminds her how happy she is to have married her husband.  

Sound strange?  There’s more to the story.

She wasn’t just a celebrating being a bride that day… she was celebrating her freedom.  Earlier in her life she had been kidnapped and sold as a slave… forced to marry an elderly man and spend 15 years plotting an escape in a life she never wanted.  As she ran from where she was being held captive to Liujiazhuang Village, she met a woman who did whatever she could to help.  Not long after Xiang met this woman’s brother… they fell in love… and got married.  

How many times do we rush to judgment when hearing about someone’s life?  If I would have stopped after the first paragraph, many of us would have walked away thinking this woman is eccentric… odd… someone who needs to come to grips with “the right way to act.”  But when you hear the rest of the story, things get clearer and start to make more sense.  She isn’t wearing a wedding dress everyday just because she’s a happy bride… she wears it as a symbol of emancipation and of the true love she’s found in her heart for her new husband.

As we head in to 2017… let’s dedicate ourselves to digging below the surface in the lives of those we know.  Let’s stop with the pleasantries and spend the time getting to really know people.  Jesus modeled this so many times in scripture… His discussion with the woman at the well (John 4), his talk with the woman who committed adultery (John 8), and his choosing of the original disciples (Luke 5).  Christ didn’t judge any of these people by who He saw on the surface… He pushed through the apparent and uncovered the potential.

There are people all around you today that are begging you without words to ask that second question.  Rather than just “How are you doing?”… they want “How can I help?  What do you need?  or Is there more you need to share?” They want you to ask for the story behind the story and genuinely care about it.   There is so much more to people’s lives than a first impression.  And if we are really going to love them like Christ does, we have to be willing to hear them out and get the whole picture.   

Want to be a real friend?  Dare to ask questions, seek understanding, and get involved beyond the surface of the relationship.  It will help illuminate, enhance, and bring maturity to a bond that can last a lifetime!

Love One Another

I was preparing to teach one weekend, I ran across an old story about the 20th century violin virtuoso, Fritz Kreisler. Setting out from Hamburg, Germany, one day to give a concert in London, he had an hour before his boat sailed.  He wandered into a music shop, where the proprietor asked if he might look at the violin Kreisler was carrying.  He then vanished and returned with two policemen, one of whom told the violinist, “You are under arrest.”

“What for?” asked Kreisler.

“You have Fritz Kreisler’s violin.”

“I am Fritz Kreisler,” protested the musician.

“No you’re not. Come along.”

As Kreisler’s boat was sailing soon, there was no time for prolonged explanations.  Kreisler asked for his violin and played a piece he was well known for. “Now are you satisfied?” He asked.

The policemen let the musician go because he had done what only Fritz Kreisler could do.

If you are a follower of Christ... did you know that there’s something that you can do that is unique to being a believer?   Something you can do that the world doesn’t understand?   What is it?

The Bible puts it this way:  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

Love.  Real genuine love.  Christ demonstrated this “Agape” love... even to those that were hurting Him emotionally and physically.  It’s not the “I love you let’s get married” kind of love.. or even the love a parent has for a child.  This is deeper love.  Unconditional love.  “Loving your enemies” kind of love.  It’s the type of feeling that transcends typical emotional response and dares to change the world.   

It’s our identifier as believers.  Our calling card.  It’s what we should be known to have and to give away with great and unexplainable frequency.  If we are believers, love should be our default reaction even when the rest of the world wouldn’t.

So many people characterize Christians as judgmental, closed-minded, and out-of-touch.  While these sweeping generalizations are far from truthful... wouldn’t it be great if we were known for the way we love others?  To care for and protect those that the world has turned it’s back on?  To hug the outcasts? To reach out to those that have made mistakes?  

It shouldn’t be hard to tell we’re Christian.  And not because we wear a cross, or carry a Bible, or have a few scriptures memorized... It should be because we love Christ first and, in turn, are loving, caring, kind, and understanding even in the face of great adversity or persecution.  Love is something everyone says they can do... but true students of the Savior do it when everyone else turns away.  

Be who you were created to be... rescue those God puts in your path... do what only a Christ-follower can... 

Care for others with the heart of God...

See others through the eyes of God...

and love others because He first loved you.  

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

Sweeter

The other day, I read an article about the diet soft drink, “Coke Zero”... it talked about how pleasantly surprised people were to discover how close to real coke it actually tasted.  The story said that many loved that they could have the benefits and great taste of a refreshing coke without the guilt of the calories.  

I was thinking about this when I ran across this scripture from Mark 8:34 - Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me"  A challenging verse...but Jesus makes it very clear what He requires to be a disciple.   I meet many who are Christ followers... some want God’s blessings and provision but don’t want the obedience and sacrifice He requires.  They want the taste without the calories... the upside without the cost.  If we are going to walk with Him... we can’t leave our cross laying on the ground.  Let’s commit today to pick it up, and follow Him with our whole heart...  When we do... life gets so much sweeter.  

Video Fireplace

Pastor Stephen Kingsley walked into a restaurant to have a warm bowl of chili.  It was freezing outside… the snow piling up just outside the front door.  He walked to the counter, ordered his food and coffee, and waited patiently.  In the corner of the room, an image on the television caught his eye.  It was a closeup of a fireplace… it’s flames dancing randomly across the screen.  He says that maybe it was just because it was cold outside… but he couldn’t take his eyes off the video fireplace.

Have you ever seen anything like that?  A fake fireplace?  All image but no heat?  Maybe not, but you might have known someone like that.  All commitment, no execution.  All talk, no action.  All carrying on, but no carrying out.  The Bible tells us not to be like that phony fireplace on the screen in James 1:22 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.”  James tells us… don’t just look the part… don’t just say the words… don’t just promise yourself you’ll change… actually do it!  Be the real deal!  The world isn’t looking for fake fireplaces… they are looking for genuine believers fired up to be the light in this dark world.