Well, well, well……I promised an update on my quest to spend 24 hours thinking, acting and living like Jesus.
What did I learn by taking this challenge? Well for starters, I have a loooooong way to go in living like Jesus. It’s not that anything went particularly horrible in the last 24 hours. There were no major meltdowns (that happened on Sunday before the Jesus challenge!) No blatant sin issues. No teenage drama. The gap between living like Jesus and living like me displayed itself in more subtle ways. An attitude. A thought. An action I should have taken but put off until later.
Taking the Jesus challenge made me painfully aware that much of my life is ruled by my way of handling things rather than Jesus’ way. It seems the bigger the issue, the more easily I surrender to Christ. It’s not the big stuff that trips me up. After trying to think, speak and live like Jesus for 24 hours I have come to realize it’s the little stuff that prevents me from fully following in Christ’s footsteps. Things like how I spend my time. Or negative thoughts about an irritating stranger. Or frustrations over virus infected computers. Or running late. Or traffic jams.
You know. The stuff of life.
Which is just a smidge convicting.
I had to laugh when I read an email from one of my dear friends a few moments ago:
“Loved your latest blog! I’ve intentionally started my last two days off with the Jesus Challenge. The first morning it lasted until the kids got up…today for about 30 minutes. I just know tomorrow I’ll be successful because they start school! 🙂 Ha ha!”
She makes me feel normal. But in our hearts neither my dear friend or I want to be merely normal women. We want to be Christ-like women. And so do you.`
At the end of my 24 hour Jesus Challenge I happened to glance at a card another friend gave me a few weeks ago. The card contained several scriptures – none of which I had time to read when she handed me the card, I’m embarrassed to admit. But yesterday I paused long enough to look at her carefully chosen Bible verses. Here’s what I read:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.
Romans 8:29a
These verses contain the key to living like Jesus. And the motivation. So tomorrow I’ll get up and take the challenge once again. Because a life lived like Jesus isn’t something you try one day for curiosity sake. No, following Christ is a life long Jesus Challenge.
P.S For a real life look at someone who’s seeing life through the eyes of Jesus this week, hop over to my friend Shannon Primicerio’s blog at beingagirlbooks.com/blog.
