Thursday, August 23, 2007
What does it meant to be Christ-like? To read the bible and pray everyday? To include God in our every speech? I remember writing about this, but now I am going to elaborate on it. To explain the true meaning of what is to be like Christ. Before all, I would like to thank God for blessing me with the gift to see into everyone and everything. So far nothing that I foresee have not come to past. I treat it as a form of maturity in Christ. No one can escape my eyes and my judgement on anyone has yet to be wrong. Not being boastful here, but I do pray and seek God if my judgement are true. I am not judging anyone but it is a guide for me to follow. Not repeating in the mistake made. Now, lets get on to the subject. To be Christ-like means not only in our actions in Church but also outside Church. Some Christians can be very holy and Christ-like in Church, but once out they are another person. In behaviour and in speech. To Christians they might seem holy but to their outside friends I don't know and I don't wish to know. I have seen some Christians whom I thought is very holy and a 'real Christian', but I am shock of who they are outside. It is like a 180 degree change of person. I must admit not all are like this, but it is that few rats that spoilt the soup. I do know of Christians who smoke and drink but is a fine gentlemen in Church. Also, to be Christ-like is to follow God's will. Not asking God to follow our will. It is true that we should ask God to bless us with what we really want. But most importantly is that our desire is focus on God. That means that we seek God to bless us with what is not of our own will. A simple illustration is in choosing which school to go to. We should pray that God puts us in the school that we can glorify Him. Not the school that we desire to go nor the school that is more famous. A more close to heart example is in choosing our partner. We should ask God to give us what is good in His sight. Not to ask God to bless a relation that we as man want. This way, it will not be God's will but our own will. Nonetheless, reading the bible is a compulsory part of Christ-likeness. We must remember what is in the bible. After all, God's words are like the blade of a sword in fighting the battle with the devil. Some Christians treat the bible for granted. They think that it is just a book but it is more than just a book. It is what our lives should based on. When non-Christians ask, we will know how to answer. When we are down, we know where to seek encouragements. When we are unhappy, we know where to find joy. I personally experienced this recently. I can be the best witness to tell of this. It may sound simple but trust me, it is not as easy as it may seem.
Most importantly, is to show off God's name in whatever we do. Before we do anything, use a second to think if God will do the same. Will God jaywalk in this situation? Will God spend His money on such stuff? Will Jesus have this thinking? How will Jesus react in such a situation? If what we are doing will be what God will be doing, then by all means do it. But if it is not the same as we expect, then we got to think again on what we should do. Are we following a path that will glorify God? or are we doing something that is in our own interest? If we are doing something that God would, then we need not fear that he would not be on our side. His blessings will be on us if we do not misuse His trust. But only we ourselves will know if we are doing the right thing. Nobody other than God will know us except ourselves. So whether we have God on our side blessing us can only be answered by ourselves.
Although it may all sound so fundamental but trust me, it is not. Like the correct way of brushing our teeth, how many really follow the correct way? I am sure we all know the right way to brush. Speaking from experience, it is sometimes very tempting to go our own ways. But the consequences of going our own ways are much more to bear. It is better to feel the pain of not going our own ways than to suffer a more painful ending.
Anyway, these are just the basic steps to follow to be Christ-like. There are more to ponder and decipher. It is not a easy thing to do. But if we set our minds right on following God, we will let Him decide what is best for us and we are only to follow. We will have less to worry about. For me, I might not be able to exercise all these to its fullest. I might not be able to do all of these all the time, but I do try my best to. Frankly, I don't see much of this in many of today's Christian. But there are exceptions. There are still those who are really Christ-like.
I just hope that I will be able to use this gift that God gave me to bless others. My words will not be tasteful as I believe that there is no point to listen to nice words. I will only tell the truth to my friends. There is no point to make someone feel happy now and let him suffer in eternity after that. But sometimes I choose not to know so much. It is more carefree not to know. The truth if I feel more hurt than my friends when I see them going through something I knew will happen. The truth is bitter when it is not in our favour.
zihao blogged at 8/23/2007 12:27:00 AM
