Christ Like

13When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not gprevail against it. 19“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth hwill be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16: 13 - 19 NKJV

There Jesus stood among His disciples, the men He had chosen to share His life here on earth with.  Then, He asked them a important question, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  Notice that this lead in question had nothing to do with who the disciples saw Him as.  The answers were varied, from John the Baptist to a prophet.  Then Jesus asked Peter that very same question, and Peter nailed it.  "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  The reason I mention this passage is that I have seen many similarities in christianity today in how others see Christ Jesus.  Many is the time where I have heard Jesus refered to as just a modern day prophet or guru.  Of course, I know better, but it is interesting to hear how others see my risen Lord.  I have a feeling that this viewpoint others have of Jesus may make it that more difficult to see the truth of Christ.  That truth being the indwelling of Christ Jesus in we who have accepted Him today.  For His story did not end with His death and resurection, but continues on to this day within us.

9But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies dthrough His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8: 9 - 11 NKJV

Each week there are pulpit pounders throughout the land who will challange their flocks with being more Christ like.  It seems logical, for to be like Christ Jesus is to be perfect, holy and spotless.  Why wouldn't our heavenly Father want this for His children?  Also, to be more Christ like is to be in relationship with the Father as His Son is.  This often leads to a internal struggle with many a christian when they come to that realization that they cannot through their own efforts be as holy or spotless as the parson has called them to be.  Well, at the risk of being expelled from christianity yet agian, I submit that the local pastor is wrong.  Yes, wrong.  No, I am not a heretic or blasphemer, just a once struggling child of God who was shown the truth of Jesus.  That internal struggle to be more Christ like was once mine.  However, no matter how hard I tried, my behavior and my flesh always fell far short of the reqirement I was told I needed.  This is the vicious cycle, we're told we need to be like Jesus, we knock ourselves out in our efforts to achieve His holy standard, then we feel defeated because we feel that it is something we are doing which makes our efforts in vain.  So we try even harder the next time, and the cycle continues.  That "Aha" moment for me came when the truth of Jesus was made known to me by my friend Dennis.  For the truth of Christ Jesus is not that we need to be more like Him, but that we already ARE HIM.

20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galations 2:20 NKJV

In Galations 2, the apostle Paul relates the very truth of Jesus that I stuggled so long to realize.  There was, and is, nothing I can physicaly do to make myself more holy or spotless in the eyes of God.  God knew I had a sin condition.  He also provided me the way out of it through His Son.  For what I could not accomplish on my own, Jesus did by becoming sin on my behalf.  It is not that I need to be more Christ like, I simply need to realize that Christ Jesus has already found a home in me.  Therefore, I live and walk each day AS JESUS who is in me.  Maybe I should go to church tomorow and tell the pastor I don't need to be like Jesus as I already am, but I'll let him find that out on his own.

~Scott~