The other day as I was praying, I sensed God asking me: “Do you look like Jesus?” My response was “what do you mean God, do I look like Jesus?” He pushed on and said, “Do your actions, your words, and how you live your life make you look like Jesus?” For the rest of the day, I just couldn’t let that question go. I knew at the moment that I heard the question, that God was nudging me to open myself up and allow Him to search me and help me answer that question. What better way to do that than to allow the Word to “judge the thoughts and attitudes of my heart.” Hebrews 4:12  

Clothe Ourselves With Christ

The first verse that popped into my mind was Genesis 1:27 – we should always begin at the beginning, right? God created man and woman in His own image. Here image is not referring to our outward appearance, but to what is inside of us. God gave us the ability to think and reason and love. He also gave us the ability to choose. When Eve chose sin over God, the image of God in us grew dimmer and dimmer until finally, God was hardly recognizable in us. Then in God’s infinite wisdom, He sent Jesus to earth to remind us how to live and ultimately to offer us the gift of salvation.    Colossians 1:15 says that “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God”.  So if God created us in His own image and Christ is the visible image of the invisible God, shouldn’t we look like Jesus?

When we are born again into Christ, we clothe ourselves with Christ.  The Amplified says we “take on His characteristics and values.” Galatians 3:27  But what are some of Jesus’ characteristics and values that we should clothe ourselves with?   

Jesus Was A Servant

Jesus, the Son of God who had every right to be served, did not “come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:45  A servant is one who submits himself to another and who is more concerned about the well-being of others than himself. As Christians, we are to first submit ourselves to God and then to each other. Jesus says “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all [in importance] and a servant of all.” Mark 9:35 AMP   Jesus is radical, isn’t He? To be first, I must be last and a servant of all? This is completely counter to our culture today which screams, it’s all about me, me, me: my wants, my desires, my needs. American culture tells us that it’s good to put ourselves first; in fact, I should put myself first.   

But JESUS shows us through His actions, time and time again, this is not true. “It’s all about me” is a lie. It’s not all about me, it’s all about each other.  Jesus embodied the ultimate servant. When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, He showed His love with actions. When we serve others, when we are more concerned about others’ needs, than we are our own, then we take on Jesus’ characteristics and values: we begin looking more and more like Him.  

Jesus Was Compassionate

When Jesus saw those who were hurting, “he had compassion on them.” Matthew 9:36 Compassion is a “feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” (dictionary.com) Notice that compassion is more than a feeling, it is a feeling that propels one to action. Jesus never turned anyone in need away. Neither should we. We are to look like Jesus. We are to see others as Jesus sees them.

Jesus said in Matthew 25 when you feed the hungry, you feed Him; when you give a drink to the thirsty, you give Him a drink, when you invite a stranger into your home, you invite Him in, when you give the naked clothing, you clothe Him; when you care for the sick, you care for Him and when you visit those in prison, you visit Him. He said: “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”    Every day we run into those who are sick and hurting, but do we have compassion for them, or do we just turn away?  Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost, are we doing the same?  

My desire is to look like Jesus. I want my words, my actions, and how I live my life to reflect Him. I no longer want the lie that “It’s all about me” to dim the reflection of Jesus in my life. I want to clothe myself in Christ and take on His characteristics and values. I want to be a servant to all and show compassion for those in need. When I meet Jesus I want Him to say to me “when I was hungry you fed me; when I was thirsty, you gave me water…” And, the next time God asks me “Do you look like Jesus?” I want to answer with a resounding YES!