What a question! Have you ever really thought about this?
I once heard a snippet of a sermon called, “Will the real Jesus please stand up!” My first thought was how can you have just a little bit of Jesus? Then I listened more intently to what the young preacher was saying and understood the meaning of the sermon.
We as Christians accept Christ as our Savior, join a church, and then try to live a life that Christ would be pleased with. All of us do this! Our newfound experience gives us a new look on life, and we say that we will never change from it. We have become a child of God, and no one can take that away.
We understand what the Word of God says to us when we immerse ourselves into it and allow the Lord to speak to us. We understand what John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God will never leave us; however, we may put Him aside to dwell on worldly desires.
As we fight the everyday pressures of the world, which has Satan as the prince of the air, do we have enough Jesus in our life to truly change our lifestyle? Many want enough Jesus to get to heaven but not enough Jesus to change our thoughts and ways to live for Him. We want enough Jesus to inspire us but not enough Jesus to transform us. We want enough Jesus to bless our plans but not enough Jesus to change them. We want enough Jesus to wear a cross but not enough Jesus to carry one!
The young preacher who delivered that message is Daryl Black. His point – very well taken by me and should be for others – is that we don’t want a Savior but just enough Jesus to get us through our daily living. We want enough Jesus to carry us to church on Sunday and be inspired but have a different lifestyle Monday through Saturday.
There are many professing Christians who want a Jesus built in their own image. The real Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit that convicts us, that challenges us and leads us in the image of Christ, and this is who we should be following instead of the ways of the world.
What about your daily living? Are you living the way Jesus leads you or are you following the ways of the world? Have you accepted Jesus for who He is and wants you to be or are you following an image of what you think is okay enough to be called a follower of Christ? If you want the real Jesus, repent of your sins and ask Him to live within you and guide you in all that you think, say, and do. Do you have enough Jesus to be true follower of His?
