Being Like Jesus

It’s funny, but many people who read Seeds of the Kingdom each day say to me that as soon as they start to read them, they can often tell who the writer is. I guess we all bring our own style and preferred content when we prepare these seeds and who we are will often seep through into our writing.

And that got me thinking. Paul challenges the readers of his letter to the church in Philippi, and consequently us as well, to seek to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus. In other words, he challenges his readers to become more like Jesus. Now that doesn’t mean we become less of the individual we are. We are uniquely and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

But we are called to become more Christ-like in the unique way that only we can be. Just as each Seed writer will write from their own background and experience, and in their own way, so we are all called to represent Jesus in the unique way that only we can. But whatever that looks like, we should all do so with certain traits that Jesus so fully demonstrated.

Reading on in the letter, we find that this will include a servant-hearted humility, not seeking to earn God’s favour, because His favour has already been bestowed upon us. You might describe this as living out more fully that which we already are. Jesus is called the ‘Son of God’ because that is uniquely His identity. But even though that was who He was, He did not consider this status to be something to be used for His own advantage (Philippians 2:6) but He made Himself nothing (verse 7).

Wonderfully, the Bible tells us that when we come to faith in Jesus we too are welcomed into God’s family as ‘children’ of God (1 John 3:1). We have been adopted into His family (Romans 8:14-17). How that might look in each of our lives will be as individual as we are, but there is a common thread that, if we are in Christ, our calling is to take the very nature of a servant (verse 7).

Whoever you are reading this today, our calling is to seek to become more like Jesus, but in our own unique way. What a beautiful prospect that becomes and so counter to the culture we face all around us! And thankfully we are not called to do this simply in our own strength. As Paul also reminds us in the same section of Philippians, ‘It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose’ (verse 13).

I love how Paul concludes this section with a practical call.

‘Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life’ (Philippians 2:14-16).