To be Like Christ

by Ling Yok Wong

 

When you were young, you believed in Santa Claus

When you grew up, you no longer believed in Santa Claus

When you have kids, you become Santa Claus

When you are old, you look like Santa Claus

 

The center of Christmas is not Santa Claus, and we do not need to be like Santa Claus. However, we do need to be like Jesus. His life has impacted millions in every generation. In the process of learning to be like Jesus, our lives will also affect and bless those around us.

 

What are we to learn from Christ? Is it His power to perform miracles? Is it his courage to stand up to authority? Is it His lovingkindness and compassion? Or His teaching with authority? Jesus said: "Learn from me… (Matt 11:29). What is it that he wants us to learn? Based on Matt 11:29, we are to learn to be "gentle and humble in heart". How does Jesus demonstrate this attitude? Phil 2:5-8 clearly says that we are to learn from Jesus' heart, "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of man. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

 

The explicit demonstration of being "gentle and humble in heart" is Christ dying to self. He forsook the highest authority and glory due to Him, and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

 

My youngest daughter is three and she loves to watch the Jesus video. One day, she said: "Daddy, I want to be Jesus." She then took two bolsters and arranged them in a T shape. Pointing to the bolsters, she said: "The cross." The she lay down on the cross and shouted: "I am now Jesus." The Jesus video describes the life of Christ. Yet when my three-year-old daughter talked about being like Jesus, she chose the most outstanding picture - Jesus dying to self on the cross.

 

At times, when we say we want to be like Jesus, we mean we want to have the power He has, or teach like Him, or to have His courage or lovingkindness. Yet Jesus wants us to die to self just as He did. Thus He says in Matt 16:24: "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." When everyone else is living for self, our "dying to self" will make us salt and light in the world, and we will be able to impact and bless the people around us.

 

At a marriage conference I asked the wives, " What do you wish your husband would do for you?" Their responses: "Give me more hugs and kisses."
"Verbalize his love."
"Help around the house and attend to the kids."
"Praise and affirm me in front of others. Do not criticize me in front of the kids."
"Organize romantic outings."

 

When I asked the husbands, "What do you wish your wife would do for you?" they replied: "Let the husband make the decisions."
"Do not compare me with other husbands."
"There must be discussion in regard to major events."
"Understand the stress husbands face at work."
"Do not restrict my spending on my hobby."

 

Spouses do have expectations of each other. We feel disappointed and angry when our spouses do not act according to our expectations. That is where conflicts arise. I have learnt that if husbands and wives would imitate Christ and deny themselves, and not insist that their spouses act according to their expectations, but seek to meet their spouses' needs - for example, the husband spends time listening to his wife and understanding her feelings, and the wife learns to praise her husband and not nag at him in order to meet his need to be respected - the relationship would certainly be more harmonious.

 

When Jesus was nailed to the cross, He did not say: "I have given them so much, how could they do this to me?" At that moment, He was concerned about our need for God's forgiveness. "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." This was how he denied Himself.

 

What do your spouse, relatives, friends and colleagues need? What are you willing to do for them? Dying to self is painful, especially when that person rejects what you have done. However, take it as you are doing it for the Lord. Jesus says, "For my yoke is easy and my load is light." Also, what you do for the Lord is not in vain.

 

May we say to Jesus this Christmas: "I want to be like you." Your life will be a blessing to those around you.