Like Jesus

I'm creating this blog mostly as a documentation of a new journey I've begun. Recently, I've found myself praying, "God, make me more like your Son." I've been a Christian since I was just a small girl, but lately I'm wondering- Do I even begin to know what it means to follow Jesus? Does it simply mean going to church, hanging out with fellow believers, reading the Word and praying? Sharing the Good News on occasion I'm sure must be a part of it all. Trying to be the best person I can be has to be at the top of the list. But is that all there is?

When I look at the Son of God that I read about in the Bible, I find myself looking into a face that is wearied with tears and heaviness. I see a man of sorrows, who is familiar with all kinds of grief and suffering. I see a man who lives among the destitute, who walks his road alone, and who mingles and interacts with the worst of all sinners on the streets. I see someone who has been slandered, misunderstood, and hated. If a stranger were to pass him on the street, he may feel pity and etch the Son of God's face on the tablet of his heart as just another statistic of the world's brokenness. But behind those tear-filled eyes is a joy that surpasses all human understanding and a holiness that has never before been experienced by mankind. As believers, we all say we want such a holiness and strive after such joy, but are we willing to walk where Jesus walked? Are we willing to even see what He saw? I, personally, don't know the answers to these questions! That is why I've begun to pray, "God, show me your glory." Reveal yourself to me as you are.

There has to be more to this journey, than my superficial knowledge of who Jesus really is. I want to truly know Him, but that means counting the cost. Why? Because the more I pray this prayer, the more I start to see that if I'm truly serious about this, I WILL endure suffering. In order to be like HIM, I have to be willing to follow in His footsteps- footsteps that lead to a wretched and terrible cross. And a cross that leads to the glory of God in an empty grave.

So I have started daily praying these words of Paul's in Philippians 3:10, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." And He's gently reminding me daily that if I'm certain that I want this deeper identification with Him, I have to be prepared for the tears that come with it. Because I'm getting that God's glory is often more clearly demonstrated through tears.

I do not know what to expect in the coming days. I do not know how my life will change as a result of this prayer. But I am expecting God to move. Otherwise, I would not have started this blog. I know full well, that my God answers prayer- especially when it fully aligns with His will. So I am preparing my heart to be ready for His answers. I do not know what I will have to endure, but I am confident of this: I don't want my life to be normal. I don't want to be ordinary. I want to be like Jesus.

Listen to Todd Agnew: "My Jesus"