Dave spoke from Acts 4:8-14 on Sunday evening, and as we read of Peter’s amazing witness and testimony which caused the Sanhedrin to be astonished (and ‘took note that they had been with Jesus‘), we see quite clearly how the power of the Holy Spirit and the influence of Jesus changed this ordinary fisherman who had denied even knowing Jesus before the crucifixion. The same should be true of us today, for we too have access to the presence of Jesus and the power of His Spirit. The best picture of Christ that we have is His living picture, shown in the words and actions of His people.
We will not be sinless like Christ, but we should reflect Him in different ways, through:
- our boldness (the Sanhedrin commented on the boldness and courage of John and Peter, and we see the boldness of Jesus when He returned to Nazareth to preach from Isaiah, even though in His home town, He was known only as the carpenter’s son. He was not afraid to stand for the truth, even against those in authority, and we too should be willing to take our stand for Christ)
- our love (for Jesus also loved all people tenderly, welcoming even little children; showing love and kindness is one way we reflect Christ’s character)
- our humility (for Jesus was willing to serve the poor and those scorned by society; there is no place for pride or arrogance in God’s church)
- our forgiveness (just as Jesus forgave those who crucified Him, we should be willing to forgive all who wrong us, trusting in God’s justice and allowing His nature to live through us.)
Being a Christian is not just for a Sunday; our life in and with Christ needs to be lived out every day of the week. There is never a time when we can strip off our uniforms, unbuckle our armour and blend in with the crowd. We must be imitators of Christ at all times. (Eph 5:1)
We must imitate Him in public. We all live in the world outside the church, and the world observes everything we do, and are quick to criticise. We must live the life of Christ in public and take care that we show our Saviour, and not ourselves; so that we can say, “It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me.”
We must take care that we carry this into the church too. We need to ensure that we carry the spirit of Christ, even in church, so that all who see us will say, “He has been with Jesus.”
We must, though, carry Christ with us especially in our private lives. Our home needs to reflect our imitation of Christ; as Rowland Hill once commented, he would not believe a man to be a true Christian if his wife, his children, and even the dog and cat, were not the better for it! Our imitation of Christ begins ultimately in secret. Remember how, after preaching the whole day, Jesus would steal away in the dead of night to seek help from His God. Remember how His entire life was constantly sustained by fresh inspirations of the Holy Spirit, obtained by prayer.
Take care of your secret life; so that you will not be ashamed for it to be revealed at the last great day of Judgement. Your inner life is written in the book of God, and one day it will be opened before you. We cannot hope to imitate Christ in public if we have not learned to imitate Him in private.