Thursday, February 7, 2013
Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 2:5 (CEB)
Doug, my four-year-old son, accompanied me to the communion rail. At the rail, we knelt together and opened our hands, preparing to be served. The pastor broke a piece from the loaf and placed it in Doug’s hands. When he broke the bread for me, crumbs from the loaf fell to the floor. “You spilled it, Jesus,” Doug whispered to the pastor.“I know,” he replied. And he picked it up and continued to serve the rest of us, as Christ had served the disciples. Later, I asked the pastor, “Have you been called Jesus before?” “Yes,” he replied, “several times, by little ones.”Being mistaken for Christ seems unlikely.
Yet shouldn’t we want to live as Jesus did, so that others see him in the way we treat one another? Our call is to be like him, as much as we are able. I profess to be a Christian, but I don’t always behave as one. When I’m unloving or judgmental, I’m not living as the gospel teaches. Participating in worship and assisting with various church projects helps me behave and feel like a Christian. But away from church, it’s more difficult. I need reminders through daily scripture study or other spiritual reading. Each day, I pray that in my attitudes and behavior I will be more like Jesus. I want to be mistaken for Christ.
