How can we love like Jesus?
Boots
How do we love like Jesus?
I came across this picture of me the other day. This is me when I was 3 years old. As you can see, I’m wearing my dad’s cowboy boots and at that time they were quite large on me!
Like a lot of kids, when I was a little guy I wanted to grow up and be like my dad. I know not everyone has been blessed to have an incredible earthly father, but I really am thankful everyday that I have that kind of dad that I still call every week just to check in.
I guess in a lot of ways, I’m still trying to fill those boots!
And I think this is what a lot of us do.
Looking for People to Look up to
When we’re little it’s not uncommon to look for people we want to imitate and be like. Maybe it’s a mom or a dad, maybe it’s a teacher, a coach, a youth minister, a super hero, a Disney princess… you name it! This is what we do. We look for people to look up to. We look for people we want to look like.
There’s something within us from an early age that wants to find someone we can look up to and imitate.
But the truth is that this isn’t just something we do when we’re young, to one degree or another, we IMITATE who we’re WITH.
Maybe you’ve seen this happen in your own life, or in the life of someone you’re close to… How sometimes we change just a little depending on who we’re with.
Some people bring out the best in us.
Others may bring out the worst!
With some people we’re more sarcastic.
With others we’re more serious.
There’s something inside of us that’s always paying attention to who we’re with and we’re always imitating, to one degree or another, those we are with.
Imitate God in Everything
This is part of the reason the Apostle Paul was writing to Christians living in the city of Ephesus. In Ephesians 5.1-2, Paul tells the Ephesians, this is how you should live. Paul writes…
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do…
That may sound like too great a thing to strive for. Like Paul was setting the bar too high. But Paul isn’t trying to set an unattainable goal for people.
If the goal was imitate God in order to please God, we would be done. But that’s not what Paul says. Paul wants to be as clear as possible about how we should live, every day, in the present. So Paul says…
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
In other words, imitate your dad!
Be like your Father in everything you do. If you want to know how you are to live, then look no further than your Heavenly Father. Imitate Him! Be like Him in everything you do because you are his dear children. You are his sons, his daughters. You are children of God. Live like Him.
How?
How in the world could you possibly live in a way that imitates God?
Paul says in verse 2…
Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
If you want to imitate God, follow the example of Christ! Live a life filled with LOVE!
And, O by the way, when Paul says to live a life filled with love, he’s not talking about the way you love pizza, or the way you love sports, or the way you love Cookie 2 Step Ice Cream from Blue Bell. Some of you have never heard of that kind of ice cream. You’re welcome, I just changed your life.
But that’s not the kind of love Paul is talking about.
And he’s not talking about the kind of love the world talks about. I know it’s confusing to think about what it means to live a life of love because the world we live in says that love is attractional, that it’s all about beauty and desire. It’s about you being happy. But that’s not the kind of love Paul is talking about either.
Over and over again the definition of love according to Jesus is SELF-SACRIFICE. It all begins and ends with your decision to willingly lay down your life, your wants, your desires, for the sake of another.
According to Jesus…
You can’t say you love someone and be unwilling to sacrifice for them.
So you can’t say you love your wife and whenever there’s a disagreement or a difference of opinion, you always have to get your way.
And you can’t say you love your kids and whenever there’s a schedule conflict, whenever there’s something that’s important to them, you’re always too busy to be there.
Because…
Love, real love, true love = self sacrifice.
Show me love without sacrifice and I’ll show you love that will literally fall apart like a house of cards the first time the wind blows it’s direction!
Show me love where self-sacrifice is at the center and I’ll show you a love that can withstand hurricane force winds because each person in the relationship is always putting themselves second and looking to the needs of the other first! Talk about having a vision and a value for your family!
Who are you willing to lay down your life for?
A few weeks ago I came across the story of Col. Mark Anarumo, the president of Norwich University. Watch this quick news clip…
The president of the University, the top guy, the most important person on campus, was so concerned for the student body having to live in isolation, in quarantine in the dorms, that he did the only thing he could think to do.
He stepped out of the President’s Mansion and entered into a dorm room. He became like one of them so that they would know they were not alone. He sacrificed his position, his place, every luxury he was afforded, he gave it all up so that they would know he was WITH them.
And you know what they felt? They didn’t use this word, but I guarantee you they felt LOVED. Because whenever someone lays that down their power, their position, their privilege for your benefit… you feel loved. Because, you are loved. And that love, that demonstrated love, that self sacrificing love, is something we never forget.
Maybe you’re wondering after the year we’ve had, after all you’ve been through, how do we move forward from here. The answer is love. Self-sacrificing love is the way we move forward from here.
In the words of the great theologian Olaf, “Some people are worth melting for.”
Who are you willing to melt for? Who are you willing to lay down your life for?
Who are you imitating?
Jesus looked at us and he decided you and I were worth melting for! He loved us so much he was willing to die for us.
And you are I are called to imitate Jesus… to love those around us with this kind of love. We are called to be the manifest love of Jesus to those around us.
So how can you love your wife today, your husband today, with a self-sacrificing kind of love?
How can you love your children today with a self-sacrificing kind of love?
What about your neighbors? Your coworkers? How can you love you surprise someone in your life today with a self-sacrificing kind of love?
And if you really want to imitate Jesus, then think about this…
How can you love your enemies today, those who have hurt you, mistreated you, those you for whatever reason deeply despise, how can you love them with a self-sacrificing kind of love?
Who are you imitating?
Are you living a life of love? A life filled with love? Sacrificial love?
What can you sacrifice this week to demonstrate your love for ANOTHER?
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