Imitate Christ?

Sometimes I feel i don’t really know what it looks like, or what it means to follow Jesus. Sure, I know how to say and do the right things to make it look like I have it together, like I really am willing to surrender everything to Christ and fully trust him. Like I lean on him for guidance all throughout the day. But here is the truth. I rely on myself much more then I do on HIM most of the time. That is why I don’t really know what it means to follow him. I have been following and idea of him that I came up with. But what does it look like to really follow after him? First we have to really know what Jesus would have done before we follow. I find I am often thinking to myself what Jesus would have done in a certain situation I am in. Unfortunately this usually takes place after I am out of the situation, thinking of what I could have done better. What if I was asking that to myself in the middle of the situation, while praying and trusting the spirit to guide me? What if I had an intimate knowledge of the Gospels, so I could draw from the situations I saw Jesus in, and act how he did and love as he did. 

So I have been studying the gospels, by myself and with others, not really seeking to break them apart and deeply dig into the meaning of scripture, but to find out what Jesus did, thought, and said, so I can put those into practice in my own life. Some of what we see about Jesus can be shocking. He was very controversial, and often called religious leaders out, many times in very harsh ways. He hung out with people no one else wanted to hang out with, and touched people with diseases that would make him unclean. He did many things that I am sure were not comfortable for him (after all, he is the ruler of the universe), and I am sure made those around him uncomfortable. He was also very humble not seeking any gain for himself at any time. Of course he performed miracles and the like, and did a lot of public speaking. So what are we called to imitate exactly? What are your thoughts? I would love to hear them. Feel free to respond here, or on facebook. 

I deeply desire to live a life rooted in Christ, but I have found that it is very hard to follow after him in this age, as I am sure it has been equally hard in previous ones. I struggle every day to surrender my will to him, because I want to have control over my life. I don’t want to follow him everywhere because that often means going into hard and messy places. First Glance is just one of the places I have seen this play out. However, if I really believe what is in the Bible then I have no choice but to follow after Jesus. I must trust that ALL of his promises are true. I must truly believe in everything in the Bible, and not just believe as an idea but as an action.

To really follow Christ I must genuinely love him. If I don’t love him and trust him then I will never be able to follow him to the places he will ask me to go. So I have been asking that I may love him more in my prayers. I desperately need him, and I realize it more and more each day. I hope you realize this as well

As you are reading this blog I don’t want you, my supporters to just be getting updated on the things I am doing, or the things God is doing. While that is great and a needed part of this blog, I also want to share how God is working on my heart and the things I am wrestling through. I also would like this to be a place where we challenge and encourage one another. So I want to encourage you to participate if you are reading this. With todays technology, even if you can’t physically be here to come participate in my mission, you can still be more involved in it then was previously possible. So please, join me as we spur one another on in faith.