JOHN 3:17: “For God did not send His Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.” The above verse speaks of Jesus’ mission to the world. The well-known verse which precedes this tells of our Father’s great love for us, in sending His only Son to be sacrificed by the death on the cross so that all might receive the gift of salvation.

Jesus’ life and lifestyle here on earth are models for those of us who profess to be believers in Christ (Christians). It then stands to reason that we must have an intimate relationship with Him and be very familiar with who He is in order to be Christ-like or model His example. So it is fair to say that anyone who professes Christianity, whose behaviour or lifestyle does not exemplify Jesus, is indeed an imposter or counterfeit and so cannot truly represent Him.

Jesus’ outstanding characteristic is His love for all. He was the one who said, and I paraphrase: we have been taught to love only those who love us; by doing that we have not shown unconditional love (the God kind of love). Jesus admonished us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us and pray for those use us and persecute us. (Matthew 5:43-46) Another outstanding characteristic of Jesus is His consistent humility; He is meek and lowly in spirit. These are just some of the hallmarks of our Lord. Do we really know Him?

Eternal Father, as a nation we now take stock of our lifestyles and calibrate them by our Lord’s example so that we may not be guilty of just professing Christ with our mouths while our hearts are far from You. Father, search our hearts and remove anything that is not like You. We want to be recognised as children of the Most High God our Eternal Father.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

celtakirk@yahoo.com