There are many scripture passages that point to Christ-like behavior (I mean hey just look at what Jesus does and says and his admonishing the disciples and others and also affirming others in their faith). But there gets to a point when one (like this guy, right here, yup that's a thing) tries to put that into action and then...human imperfection happens... Certain questions need to be asked: What are my intentions? Are the self-centered or other-centered? Did I put my full effort into this act? Did I cop-out of doing my best under the guise of "taking care of myself?" Or did I really do all that I could while maintaining healthy self-care? Did I act with love or with disdain? Was I present or was I absent? Did I truly have the best interest of others in mind or was I just looking out for myself and my self-image? If Jesus would have done this would he feel the same feelings?
The questions go on but what concerns me is that being Christ-like is only half actions. For if we look at what Jesus' comments on the Jewish law he takes them to an entirely new level. The Jewish law was action based. If you followed the law you were good. But Jesus goes and says, "Hey that isn't enough!" In a biblically accurate quotation Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt 5: 27-8). And just a little bit later, "You have heard it said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt 5: 43-8).
Jesus is dropping some real heavy stuff here. Doing the minimum just isn't enough. Following the law isn't enough. He's telling people to take those laws and engrave them on their hearts. Intentions are equally important (hence the adultery passage). But then intentions isn't the end game either. You've got to love. Not that warm fuzzy feeling (as great as that is, it's fleeting by itself as it is emotion...and that feeling probably doesn't come up with every person you meet) but that conscious decision. Now this may seem pretty straight forward...but at least for me, every time I try to put his into practice...stuff gets messy really quick (remember all of those questions I rattled off above?). It seems to me that I am always falling short of being Christ-like (and I'm not even referring to the whole verse about being perfect like your heavenly Father). I'm not even necessarily making it a goal to accomplish as much as just trying to grow.
Granted the call to discipleship isn't perfect (otherwise the original disciples failed at that) considering that the Greek word for disciple is translated as "a learner." And if I had to define discipleship I'd have to say it isn't a static state as much as its the progress of a process, in which failure occurs in order to learn. But even then I'd also say that discipleship is summed up well by St. Paul (in one of my favorite passages), "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful, it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends..." (1 Corinthians 13: 3-8). So all things that I would say I regularly fail at and I say that not out of a unrealistic expectation to be perfect but out of a realistic expectation that I'm imperfect. Thus the challenge is to figure out the balance which seemingly can be summed up as, "Just do your best!" However, at this point, that doesn't satisfy the deeper question of how to cement these pursuits in daily life. How to really engage with the call of discipleship in grow through my mistakes, which I don't always do because...I'm imperfect...but at the same time that can't be a cop-out to growth. Also the question of being Christ-like and what does that love look like? How can it be sustained and given to everyone that is encountered? Especially those with whom it does not come easily? Which is so important because as Soren Kierkegaard said, "Christ did not appoint professors, but followers. If Christianity...is not reduplicated in the life of the person expounding it, then he does not expound Christianity, for Christianity is a message about living and can only be expounded by being realized in men's lives." And that matters. I signed up for this, I commited myself to this. This thing called Christianity...and now I have to figure out how to do it...how to live it...selflessly and authentically...and that's the greatest challenge.
