Living Like Jesus

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with a small group of other pastors together with our denomination’s Vice President for Leadership Transformation, Dr. Kent Carlson. One of the things he reminded us of, which is something I first heard from Dr. Dallas Willard is that we need to learn to live as Jesus would if He were us.

We often hear preachers exhorting us to live like Jesus. We even had the craze some years back of the W.W.J.D. bracelets and T-shirts; “What would Jesus do?” All of which sounds (and probably is) great and Biblical.

The problem with that idea is, however, is that I am not Jesus! Trust me, while I am sure I am more Christ-like than I was five years ago (just ask my wife, it’s true!!) in the end I am not Jesus, and lack certain things Jesus had even in His incarnation; perfect knowledge of the Scriptures, a perfect connection with His Father in Heaven, perfect assurance of who He was and is and what His mission was in coming to earth.

And Jesus did not have some of the things I have as part of my life. A wife with a likely permanent medical condition. Three wonderful daughters and a cool son-in-law. A mortgage and car payment and a host of other things to manage. A cell phone and an endless stream of communication by voice, text and email.

I think this is why Dr. Willard’s advice is so profound. I cannot really live like Jesus, what I have to do is figure out how Jesus would live if He were in my life situation. How would He love my wife and kids if He were me? How would He lead Greenhill Baptist if He were me, here in this place at this time? I cannot (nor am I called to) wander the countryside preaching the good news of the Kingdom life breaking into this world. I can (and must) seek to use my Scripture and Spirit guided imagination to figure out what Jesus would do if He were me in each of the roles and situations I find myself in in each day.

In fact, in some way, even Jesus had to live this way. He says in John 5:19 "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” Jesus Himself was in some way living as the Father would if the Father were there physically as He was.

That is part of kingdom living – studying how Jesus lived; how He dealt with people who were friends, people who were enemies, and people who needed Him (sometimes in desperate situations). Learning to carefully listen to His guiding voice through the Spirit just as He listened to His Father in Heaven.

So how would Jesus live if He was you? How would He live if He was you as a husband or wife or father or mother? As a co-worker with the people you work with? As a son or daughter with the parents you have? Or don’t have? With the grief you have experienced or the crisis you face? With the life experiences you have had and maybe have not even allowed Him into yet? This is a starting place to a whole different life of wonder and joy if we are willing to enter into it!