Christian Living

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"I am not a role model".....

I few years ago a famous basketball player went on national television to make that claim. Personally, I disagree with that statement. Simply by existing, we become role models to those around us. Anyone with small children knows this to be true. We may not think we're being observed but when we least expect it our children will do or say something patterned after us. Hopefully the behavior that is displayed is a positive one as opposed to a negative one.

As Christians, our role model is Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:6 says, "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did" NIV. So as we live out our daily lives the saying "What would Jesus do" becomes a valid guideline. I find it such a privilege and honor to have the opportunity to be a representative of the King of Kings here in the earth.

It's one thing for a new Christian to be told to read the Gospels and model their lives after Christ. But it's an entirely different proposition to be able to see Christians in the workplace, at school, in the market and in every other area of life actually showing me, the new believer, how to live the life. Somehow seeing an example of the life Jesus lived in plain view lowered the bar for me and let me know that embarking on my "Christ like Journey" was indeed worth attempting.

As a new Christian, when I was encouraged to life my life as Christ lived His, I agreed and accepted this proposition but deep down inside I reasoned within myself and came to the conclusion that it's foolish to embark on a journey that can never be completed. I looked at how I was living at the time on such a low level and closed the door on the possibility of ever becoming more Christ like. I thank God for my early Christian mentors.

By no means were my Christian role models perfect. On the contrary, they made mistakes and were not ashamed to share those mistakes with me, which endeared me to them all the more. They showed me that while perfection is indeed unattainable, it’s possible to exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit which would plant the seed of desire in me to be more like Him. When the desire for anything is planted, striving toward obtaining the goal becomes easy.

I'd like to encourage the new believer to see your walk with Jesus and your effort to live as Christ lived not as pressure to perform an unobtainable task, but as an opportunity to lift up Christ to a world looking for answers. And as you conform more and more daily into the image of Christ, you will encourage those around you to follow you as you follow Him.

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