Christ our Example
Christ came to this world to give us the power to overcome sin. He did this by proving that, while under the curse of sin, it is still possible to live a perfect life. What hope this can give us! It is possible to overcome even as He overcame. Therefore the true Christian will hold Christ as his supreme example and God will bless the sincere follower.
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" is the Bible command (Philippians 2:5). It is possible that we can grow, through the grace of God,and attain a holy pure mind. The Bible will never promise us something that is impossible for us to gain, it says "let this mind be in you…."
Following Christ is not a superficial experience. It will require one, with all sincerity to follow closely in His footsteps, endure as He endured and overcome as He overcame.
"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." (Luke 9:23).
Are you weary and heavy laden?
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-29)
"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)
Christ is longing for more professed people of God to answer the call and with all sincerity of heart, DAILY deny their selfish wants, take up their cross and follow Christ.
The world needs more sincere people who are striving through the grace of Christ to conform the entire lives to His will.
Some points to contemplate in the life of Christ
· Christ would often attend to people's physical needs and then to the spiritual needs.
· Christ is "no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). He did not esteem one person higher than another. He loved all men equally.
In summary:
· In all things Christ is our example.
· Christ came to give us power to resist sin, so there is no reason why we should still be slaves to sin.
· We are to be striving to grow in the grace of God, so that we may better reflect the image of Christ.
· Following Christ is not superficial, or just a change on the outside. There needs to be a complete transformation, by the power God we can take up our cross daily and say no to self and yes to Jesus.
It is not good for us to look up to anyone except Christ as an example. If we are looking to some person and trying to imitate them then in due time they will fall. We are all sinners, the only person we can look to as our example is the sinless character of Christ.