When You’re Most Like Jesus

“He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.” (1 Peter 2:23 NLT)

What is your highest and holiest desire? When you’re alone with God and He’s filling your mind and heart, what becomes your highest aim? For me it’s to see the people in my family, in my spheres of influence who are lost, come to know Jesus. Not in a casual or like “shaking hands with your banker” kind of way, but an all-in commitment to the only One who is the way to heaven, and who can allow us to know and love His Father as our own.

How quickly that very spiritual ideal is snatched from us in the face of conflict. Too often our spiritual desires are swallowed by the frustrations of a moment of anger. Yet, it’s in those very moments that what we really desire in our heart of hearts must shine through or we reveal what’s really that which we most want to become a reality.

Hear Pastor Rick Warren’s heart as he writes: “Pay attention to this: You’re most like Christ when you say nothing in the face of attacks, lies, and unfair criticism. You’re most like Jesus when you remain silent and leave it in God’s hands.

The Bible says, ‘When [Jesus] was insulted, he did not answer back with an insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but placed his hopes in God, the righteous Judge’ (1 Peter 2:23 GNT). In the face of his unjust conviction and persecution, Jesus did not fight back. When it mattered most, he trusted God to defend him and bring ultimate justice.

King David was criticized and attacked his entire life. In fact, people repeatedly wanted to kill him because they were jealous of him. But David said this: ‘I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my strong protector; he is my shelter.’” (Psalm 62:5-7 GNT).

It matters very little how much the love of Christ means to us or how strongly we think we want to emulate His character if when we’re under attack we fold and allow the devil to have his way. Do we not understand that in our anger we’re seeking to exalt ourselves? We become defensive because we feel devalued or belittled? We’re trying with everything within us to prove we’re right and everyone else is wrong about us, but in the process, we fail to exalt and honor Jesus.

It may not feel like it, and we may not want to believe it, but when we lose control in a conflict or confrontation with someone, especially someone we profess to love, what we’re doing is trying to validate God’s love for us; we’re seeking to earn what can only be received as a gift; we’re making an effort to prove our worth to God.

Matt Smethurst wrote: “There is no security in a love that’s been earned.” Losing our cool in defending ourselves is essentially to invalidate God’s love, not display it. We’re putting on display our insecurity, not only in who we see ourselves to be, but in how we believe God sees us. Remember Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.”  

We’re most like Jesus when we accept criticism, especially when it’s clear we’re in the wrong, but even when we’re not, we best represent our Savior when we accept whatever someone says about us, then entrust that person to the care of the Lord.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊