If I look back into my Christian life, I can see countless times in which I have resolved to change my behavior, to try to be like Jesus. What did I get from these trying? Guilt, sadness, and burdens. Needless to say I was never near to achieving my goal of becoming more like Him.
Now I know that I am not meant to try to be like Jesus.
Following Jesus doesn't mean aiming to be like Him; it means putting an end to our independence. It means dying. Following Jesus means you no longer think by your own, you no longer see, taste, smell, talk or touch the way you want to, or the way you think is right. It means Jesus comes and lives His life in us, making us think, see, taste, smell, talk, and touch what He thinks, sees, tastes, smells, talks, and touches.
I believe there is a whole new dimension to be unlocked, and that dimension can only be opened with the key found in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God," who loved me and gave himself for me. We don't hear Paul telling us that He decided to follow Jesus and is trying to the best of his ability to be like Him. We here a Paul that no longer exists, we hear a Paul that is crucified and has no saying at all in his daily living, and no choice for that matter. This Paul gave up his independence and traded it for God's full, real, and satisfied life which he is living by faith, which in turn is given by God Himself in love (See Hebrews 12:2 and Romans 12:3).
Don't you think it is better to BE Christ than to live our lives trying to be LIKE Him?
Trying to be like Jesus is the most exhausting thing you could try to do. If I think about trying to be like him I might as well throw my towel right now and give up. When I think about living trying to answer the "What Would Jesus Do?" question in every single situation in life, I fell overwhelmed by the enormity and impossibility of the task. I, a simple limited human, cannot know what God would do. It takes God to understand God. It takes God to think like God, and it takes God to act like God.
I am sorry to tell you: You are NOT able to live like Christ. And the sooner you come to terms with this fact, the sooner you can give up your independence, and trade it for God's abundant life.
My goal with this article is purely to encourage you to allow God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to completely inhabit you and live the life that you will never be able to live, hard as you may try. Just give up! Go to the cross and crucify yourself. Trust me, it will be the best decision of your Christian life, and it will save you from the frustration of failure.
