like Jesus?

A lot of what we see in life has this façade
Each company puts the best in front. They want to appear to have no flaws.
Their product is THE answer.

We are introduced to a product or service and it seems great. It seems beneficial.   It’s something we can’t live without.  Everyone will have one. On top of all of that it’s affordable.  (for only three easy payments of $19.95)

Until we read the fine print. Until we sign on the dotted line.  And then we’re left shocked, disappointed, unsatisfied.  We feel lied to. We feel mislead.  We might even feel a little embarrassed that we fell for it.

There is a growing number of people who have had that same experience with the church.
That the hype doesn’t match up with the product they’re selling.  It is a candy-coated Gospel.
We see the same candy-coating on TV. Evangelists who claim you can have it all, and still be “like Jesus”.  They throw around the word blessing as if it has purely to do with our earthly success and comfort.
What we will find when we actually read through the Bible is that to be “like Jesus” might look a little different than we expected.  It’s a very counter-cultural way of thinking.  Everything is upside-down.
This is who Jesus really is… A homeless man who…argues with authority, chooses the outcasts, hangs out with prostitutes, thieves and outsiders. Has all the power in the world, yet the meekness not to use it.  A guy who didn’t chase after those who weren’t willing to change.  Chose peace over retaliation. Self control over self indulgence. Submission over political authority. A guy who was happy without owning much more than the clothes on his back.A guy who met peoples needs but didn’t need to be recognized for it.  A guy who chose death for a world that majority of would deny Him.  A guy who said Go another mile, turn the other cheek, give to someone who asks.  A guy who spent three years investing in a person that He knew would stab Him in the back.  A guy who taught that you could do the right things according to the law and still be distant from God.  A guy who from the very beginning told you that you had to give up yourself in order to follow Him, in order be “like Jesus”

Does that sum up the person that we want to be like?
Do we understand how counter cultural, how Anti-self, how dangerous this guys is?
Are we sure we want to be “like Jesus?”

Absolutely!