I Am NOT Like Jesus - May 8 Readings: Judges 21, Luke 22:47–71, Psalm 58:5–11, Proverbs 12:1–2

Links to May 8 Readings: Judges 21, Luke 22:47–71, Psalm 58:5–11, Proverbs 12:1–2

One day I will be like Jesus. One day I will be like Jesus because of the work that God is doing in me. It is his power and grace that is at the root of spiritual transformation. One day I will be like Jesus.

Today is not that day.

As I read through the gospels and see who Jesus was in his earthly journey, I am constantly reminded of how unlike him I am. In Luke 22:51 Jesus does something so unlike me, something I would never do in a million years without the power of his Spirit.

Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, having just finished praying, when the mob shows up to arrest him, accompanied by his betrayer, Judas. Some of the disciples had a sudden attack of boldness and wanted to fight. One of them (in another gospel we learn it was Peter) even picked up a sword and took a wild swing, cutting off a servant's ear.

What Jesus did next was something so different from anything I would do. He picked up the ear and healed the servant. A slave! In the midst of the uproar, when a mob was there to arrest him, Jesus was concerned about someone no one else cared about. His own master probably wasn't too concerned about whether the slave had an ear. But Jesus cared. And in the middle of all his troubles, when his own life was threatened, he focused on a hurting slave.

I'm sure I would have been focused on my own troubles, on the mob that had come to arrest me, on what lay ahead. I doubt I would have been too concerned about one of the enemy's slaves.

I am different from Jesus, but I need to become more like him, seeking the Spirit's transforming power in me. I need to focus on the work of God not the hurts of the world. Jesus' world was crashing down around him, but his heart went out to a hurting slave. All around me are hurting people. Sin wreaks devastation on human beings. So often, as I go about my day, I ignore those people that Jesus never overlooked. I need to look for the injured, the hurting, the battered, beaten and broken and seek to bring the love and healing of Christ to their lives.

Father, I rejoice in my destiny; that one day I will be like Jesus. But I realize how far I still have to go, how little progress I've made toward that destiny. Work in me by the power of your Spirit to make me more like Jesus.