Sunday, February 2, 2014

I'm Not Jesus

I'm Not Jesus
Feb 3, 2014
Job 1:8  "Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.'"

Jesus is the ultimate example of someone whom we should all emulate.  It would be nice if every Christian could be Christ-like at all times.  This is what we should strive for, but we all fall short of being like Jesus.  One of the most difficult things about being a Christian leader is that people will compare you to Jesus a little more often than the average Joe.  You will be held to a higher standard.  When you falter or stumble, even in the slightest, there will always be someone willing to shake his finger at you and remind you that you aren't perfect.  And it is easy in that moment to tell him off while gently reminding him that you aren't Jesus.  You're not perfect and it is impossible to live up to the standard of the Son of the Living God.  In your imperfection, you reason that it is quite OK to not be perfect.  After all, we can't be perfect; we're only human.

Some might reason that Jesus was human at the same time while being a Deity.  He was the ultimate example of succeeding over sin while being tempted.  He was the ultimate example of perfection in human form, blameless and able to handle Himself well in every situation.  Yes, Jesus was human and without sin, but lets face it, He had a slight advantage.  He was God in human form.  From our perspective it wasn't really a level playing field.  He was perfect and sinless because he was always perfect and sinless BEFORE He took on a human form.  So let's narrow the playing field a little and compare ourselves, for the sake of argument, to someone else a little less like a God.  Let's compare ourselves, just for a moment, to Job.

Remember that Job was a man who, in a debate between God and Satan, was put through hell on earth just to prove a point.  The Lord told Satan that Job was an extremely upright man, a man who would serve the Lord through thick and thin, no matter how tough life got.  Satan asked to test the Lord's theory about Job, inflicting the worst wounds upon him as humanly possible, to see if he could hold up.  Satan killed Job's children, all of them, leaving him alone.  Satan destroyed Job's wealth and fame, debasing the man to an embarrassment.  Satan ravaged Job's body to the brink of death.  Job had nothing to live for and it was recommended that Job curse the Lord and simply die.  But Job didn't do that; he stood firm to his faith in the Lord, trusting in His greater plan.  Though Job couldn't have experienced a worse emotional pain than the death of his children, he still trusted and served God.  Though Job became a social outcast similar to a bum, Job still stood for his faith.  Though job endured physical torture, he still declared that God was a good God.  The Bible says that throughout all Job had to endure, he didn't sin.

Job didn't curse the Lord for what the Lord allowed in his life.  Job is an example of a true human being who could relate to EVERYTHING you are going through right now.  There isn't a person with emotional or physical pain, alive today, who could trump Job and his sufferings.  Yet Job remained faithful and true under pressure.  Job wasn't Jesus, he wasn't the Son of the Living God, he wasn't a Deity, yet he did it!  Job was faithful to serving the Lord in every and all circumstances, even the same circumstance you are enduring right now.  If you feel there isn't a human who could understand what you're going through, you're wrong.  If you excuse yourself and your bad behavior suggesting that no one else could persevere through your own similar difficulties, you are wrong.  Job did it.  Job succeeded and it is an example of a human, an imperfect and tempted human, who was able to triumph over the difficulties that life brought upon him.

So the next time you'd like to excuse your ill behavior, suggesting Christ-like living could not be attained under your personal, unique circumstances, think again.  Job did it and you can, too.  No, you're not Jesus but if Job could endure ALL of life's difficulties at once, then you and I can surely endure our own personal portion.  It IS possible to maintain your Christianity throughout ALL circumstances.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Job 2:3 & 10, 2 Tim 2:3

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