O To Be Like Thee

Christianity is a religion based upon the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born in the small and otherwise insignificant town of Bethlehem, as foretold by the prophet Micah. "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting," (Micah 5:2). Jesus grew up in the town of Nazareth, of which Nathanael said, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (Jn. 1:46). By our estimation of greatness, Jesus did not have the most noble of beginnings. Nor would anyone expect that He was to be the greatest Man to have ever walked the face of the earth. His influence has spanned time and distance. All of human history either looks forward to His coming, or back at His arrival. What is so special about Jesus Christ? He was not rich. Nor was He very popular among most of His contemporaries. Yet He is the example of the most outstanding life ever lived. His life is what ours should be. Let us notice who this Man truly is.

Our Dearest Friend

Jesus Christ is truly our closest and dearest friend. "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother," (Pr. 18:24). Jesus Christ is a friend who will be there for us when the chips are down. When times are tough, and we're ready to give up, Jesus is here and ready to help. When troubles befall us and there's no one else to help, look to Jesus as the friend that never fails. Hours before His crucifixion, He was busy trying to comfort His disciples. He told them of His departure and of His great love for them saying, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you," (Jn. 15:13,14). Jesus is our dearest friend. We show our love for Him by keeping His word. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome," (1 Jn. 5:3).

Our Loving Savior

His greatest act of love and compassion was His death on the cross for our sins. He had committed no crime. He had done no wrong. But He was tried and convicted without mercy. He was beaten, mocked, and spit upon. He was shamefully displayed before the crowds who had come to Jerusalem to observe the Passover. He was marched through the streets, bearing His cross, covered with blood and spit, staggering as He struggled with the weight. He was taken to the hill outside of the city and nailed to the cross between two common criminals. He groaned in agony as they lifted Him up and cried out as they dropped the cross into its hole. Every bone in His body must have rattled as the cross shook and shuddered into place. It wasn't the nails that held Him to the cross, but His own love for the world that was dead in sin. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us... who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed," (Rom. 5:8; 1 Pet. 2:24).

Our Heavenly King

Though He died on the cross, yet the grave was not His end. Though He was rejected by men, yet he was received by His Father. "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him," (Jn. 1:11). "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion," (Ps. 2:6). On the third day following His death He was raised up, never to die again. He has conquered death, and is now King reigning in heaven. While on trial before Pilate, Jesus told him of His kingdom. "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice," (Jn. 18:36,37). The kingdom Jesus is speaking of is a spiritual kingdom. Christ is King of those who do His will. It was not God's intention to have another earthly kingdom, such as the nation of Israel, but rather to purchase an everlasting spiritual kingdom with Christ as its King. Christ's reign is in the hearts and lives of men and women who do His will. We must hear the word of God and obey it in order to enter and abide in this most precious of institutions purchased with the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28).

Jesus Christ is the most important and influential Man who ever lived. His purpose is "to seek and to save that which was lost," (Lk. 19:10). He came to earth, suffered, and died so that He could bring the lost back to their heavenly home. He has issued the invitation to any and all who will hear. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me," (Rev. 3:20). Will you open the door?