I want to be more like Jesus. Wanting to be more like our brother straight from heaven may seem like an unusual want to most people. I don't want a bigger TV, bigger house, bigger SUV or stacks of moldy money. You can have it. I want Jesus! I want to bring a little bit of heaven to as many people as I can by sharing God's love. I am in hot pursuit of Jesus!
We need to love people if we are going to be like Jesus. That means even loving the hard to love. Love is sacrifice. It is a willingness to be inconvenienced or uncomfortable as we do things for others. Jesus set the example for us, the greatest example of love, as he died even for the people who hated him.
Setting aside our own agenda and own concerns to attend to the needs of someone else is what Jesus would do. Love is more than simply having good feelings for others. We must also include good actions. Bend down and pick others up. It's a great exercise for the heart.
God programed us not for isolation. We were programed to live together, help one another and have interaction with each other. Our greatest joys in life come in our relationships with others. We must learn to get along without hurting others and follow the commandments Jesus gave us...Love God and "Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31 NIV.
Sorry to all of you passing up life as you push and shove others out of the way to get to that ladder you desire. The ladder, you think, that is going to take you to the top. True greatness, my friends, is not in power. It is in service. The meaning of life is not in having authority over others, but in helping people.
Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 20:26-28 (NIV), "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Many examples are given to us of the service to others by Jesus. One of the greatest, a lesson in humility and service, happened the evening before his crucifixion. Jesus showed the full extent of his love as he got down and washed the feet of the 12 disciples. Jesus showed us that we are never to consider ourselves too important to kneel down and help someone.
In God's holy word John wrote to us in 1 John 4:10-11 (NIV), "This is love: not that we loved, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
It is a pretty straight forward and clear message to me. If we want to be like Jesus we must love one another. Not just for the next two hours, or half a day, or for an hour here and there throughout the week. We must devote our lives to God 24/7 all year long. Not just September through May.
Make the sacrifice and show God's great love daily!
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