Having Christ-Like Character
“In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. Christ himself was like God in everything. But he did not think that being equal with God was something to be used for his own benefit. But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born as a man and became like a servant. And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death—death on a cross.”– Philippians 2:5-8
In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul is highlighting the character of Christ to the Philippians. He is providing them with a model of humility and selfless service for believers to imitate. By contrasting Christ's divine nature with His self-emptying, sacrificial obedience and death on the cross, Paul was urging the community to put their selfish ambition and conceitedness aside for the sake of unity and to serve one another. This passage encourages the church to have the same mindset as Christ, prioritizing others' interests over their own.
It can be difficult to do since we all have experienced pain and hurt in our life by others. As a result, interacting with others will not always be easy. We will need God’s help for us to treat others like Christ did. We cannot be perfect like God while we are alive, but God can start making small changes in us. This process is known as spiritual maturity which enables a Christian to imitate God's love and kindness even if we have been hurt.
Having Christ-like character involves seeing people the way He sees them. It is easy to love people who love us but what about the people who treat us badly? Did you know that God cares about people who do not even care about Him? Matthew 5:44-45 confirms it, “God causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong.” Jesus announced that we are to have a similar character like God’s.
He said it can be done by,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.’ But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven." – Matthew 5:43-45
We can be like Christ by loving our enemies. Matthew 5:43-45 states it can be done by praying and showing kindness to those who hurt us. It is important to do because even the non-Christians love those who love them. However, when Christians treat people the same as Jesus did and love those who do not love them, it shows that they are God’s chosen children.
Prayer for the day:
Dear heavenly Father,
Please help us when we struggle to have Christ-like character. We may have experienced pain that can get in the way to be like Christ. Give us the ability to do it since we want to represent You in all we do. However, when we treat others like Jesus, it shows we are Your people but also it gives You all the glory and honor, Amen!
