Impacting others as Jesus did

How do we teach people to love God? What methods should be considered in hopes of getting people to see the value of Godliness? In what ways are we supposed to help motivate our loved ones to serve? Where are we to begin in our efforts to help those with real life problems? These are questions with which I have struggled since beginning my work as a full-time preacher of the Gospel some eight years ago. For so long, I would harp and harp on how people just didn’t seem to “get it!” And so, my solution was to merely quote 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:3-4, both of which are reminders to us that the Scriptures are all-sufficient and teach us all that we need to know in life. Certainly these are great passages that ought to be a tremendous source of comfort and encouragement to us in many ways. But I have come to realize that it is not that simple. In fact, I am beginning to realize that for a great length of time, the one who actually “didn’t get it,” was me. Talk about eye-opening! And humbling!

There is little doubt among believers that the most brilliant teacher in the history of mankind would be Jesus. As a man who lived physically among us just a little over 2,000 years ago, He was the most spiritually-minded, wisest, most genuine, and most intelligent person to ever walk the face of this earth. We know this in part, because of the reaction of the people after He taught them (Matthew 7:28-29). Jesus knew exactly which direction to go in turning people’s lives around. Interestingly, a study of His life reveals this. Jesus recognized that the only way the commonly unaccepted people of His day that so desperately needed guidance (Matthew 4:23-25) would be truly happy was to be a part of His kingdom (Matthew 5:3-12). Jesus is the way! John’s gospel account reminds us that Christ’s way is superior to any other (John 14:6). There is no better technique or method by which to pattern ourselves and emulate when it comes to our responsibility to reach out to people and help them see the kingdom.

We can make such a difference in the lives of others by treating people like Jesus did while He was on earth, which included love (John 21:15-17), respect (John 8:11), compassion (Matthew 9:36), and with a genuine desire to help them see God (Luke 19:10; John 3:17; 4:34). When we consider how He dealt with people, His followers as well as those who had not yet taken up their cross to follow Him, we see that He was kind and caring (Matthew 4:23), humble (Philippians 2:5-9), meek and gentle (John 4:1-26), and forgiving (Luke 23:34). His human life was a true depiction of servanthood (Matthew 20:28). He was also longsuffering with people. And so importantly, He was approachable. He was the type of leader so that His followers knew they could ask Him questions and seek His counsel (Luke 11:1; Matthew 24:3) without the fear of being maligned, ridiculed, condemned, "marked," or "withdrawn from." Instead of immediately expecting them to be where He wanted them to be, He accepted people for where they were and started from there a process whereby they could grow. Again, His dealing with Peter in John 21:15-17 is a perfect example of this.

A while back in one of our Sunday morning Bible classes, as we were studying the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, the question came up as to how we are to develop these beautiful traits. How can we just “turn on” these things when it seems as if it is not our nature to be this way at times? I think this is a very legitimate and valid question. And the more I study and learn about the life that Jesus led while on earth, the more I am convinced that He is the answer. We develop these traits (i.e., love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) through our search for Jesus. When we seek and find Him, we will know how to demonstrate these fruits. The more we get to know Him through study, prayer, and meditation, the more our inward character can become like Him as Paul reminds us in 1 Corintians 11:1.

I do not think it is by accident, as I evaluate my own life currently, that as I have begun to look at the life of Jesus more deeply and how He interacted with people, I am as excited about being a Christian today as I have ever been. The love He demonstrated for His brethren and those in sin alike, is an impetus for me to do the work of my Savior and do it with a tremendous amount of joy and excitement. Thanks be to God for His Son! Not only for His death, burial, and resurrection, which gives me the hope of eternal life with Him, but for His provision of that perfect example so that I may learn how to obtain that eternal life.

Please pray for me. Pray for me as a Christian. Pray for me in my work as a preacher. I want to grow more and more in the image of Christ. I hope that I will learn more and more as each day passes, to have a Christ-like spirit in everything that I do.