Look like Jesus

Have you ever considered what it means to live and look like Jesus? I just finished a Bible study that asked that question. In A Jesus Shaped Life, Dr. Lisa Harper challenged us to consider how our beliefs and feelings lined up with our actions. Integrity demands that the three align. But when I do an honest appraisal of my Christian life, I admit that often I don’t look like Jesus.

A not so good example

Last year, I had a minor car accident. I was sitting at the end of an off ramp near my house when I was hit from behind by a teenager driving a pickup truck.  After I assessed the situation and realized we were both unharmed, though my car had taken the brunt of the damage, I yelled at the young man. “Why weren’t you paying attention?”. That was not my finest moment. I’m embarrassed typing it. 

After suggesting we move the vehicles to a nearby gas station I got back in my car. That was when I felt the nudge of Holy Spirit. “That wasn’t kind.”

You mean you want me to be kind? Now?

I was offended. “God, that wasn’t my fault. Anyone can see that.” But again, He said, “That wasn’t kind.” And it hit home. Every morning, I pray through ** Lectio 365. It closes with this prayer: Father, help me to live this day to the full, being true to you in every way. Jesus, help me to give myself away to others, being kind to everyone I meet. Spirit, help me to love the lost, proclaiming Christ in all I do and say.” And in that moment, I had failed to be kind to someone who desperately needed kindness.

I repented and asked God to help me make it right. When I got back out of the car, I said, “I’m so sorry for how I acted. I guess I was scared. I’m glad you’re ok.” And I saw the tension loosen in his shoulders and felt my own tension fade. He called his mother for moral support, and we chatted while we waited for the police. She was a believer too, and I’m so thankful that I had listened to Holy Spirit and corrected my behavior.

We’re all hypocrites. And worse. 

While salvation happens in a moment, living and looking like Jesus takes a lifetime of practice. We’ve all heard unbelievers criticize the church, calling us a bunch of hypocrites. And they’re not wrong. Many of us are hypocrites and worse. In I Corinthians, Paul recites a litany of sins, including idolatry, greed and promiscuity that disqualify us for the Kingdom. But he concludes by saying, “Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed, you were made holy. You were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God.” 

The church isn’t made up of perfect people. Instead, it is comprised of people who, though sinners by nature, are growing toward holiness. It can be a slow process. But God’s end goal for all of us is to look like Jesus.

Made in His image to look like Jesus

After all, God created us in His image. Sin has marred that image in unthinkable ways. And it can be difficult to see myself as an image bearer, much less the person who just cut me off in traffic. But it’s true. And those of us who accept Jesus’s sacrifice for our sin can cultivate that image, or rather, God will cultivate it in us. John put it this way. “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.” 

That verse gives me a lot of hope on the days that I yell at teenagers. Or get impatient with the person ahead of me at the gas station.

Change takes time. 

God  begins to change us the moment we come to Jesus. And we get to participate in the process. Paul told the Philippians, “Work hard to show the results of your salvation.” 

There is nothing that we can do to earn salvation. Nor can we improve on anything that God has already done. Our works don’t buy salvation or a special place in the kingdom, or anything else. But we make choices that God uses to make us more like Christ. We just need to trust Holy Spirit to show us how.

How can we make sure that our actions, feelings and beliefs line up the way they should? How can we know if we look like Jesus?

Lean what Jesus looks like

First, it is important to know what we believe and why. Put another way, we can’t know if we look like Jesus if we don’t know what He looks like. Become a student of scripture, find godly teachers and mentors and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

But there is more to studying scripture than learning the answers to questions. God speaks through scripture. He will use His word to correct us. And He will direct our paths when we ask Him to.

Spending time both praying and studying can show us our progress. This gives us a template to follow and lets us see the good and the bad.

Practice, practice, practice.

In the story I told in the beginning, God used the regular practice of prayer as a reminder that I wasn’t acting or looking like Jesus. I have used the Lectio 365 for a couple of years now and rarely miss. So I have recited that prayer asking God to help me “be kind to everyone I meet” hundreds of times. The regular practice made me more sensitive to God’s guidance.

Community helps us look like Jesus

Next, we live in community, just as God Himself lives in community, and He created us to do the same. I don’t mean we are to sell all of stuff and build a commune. Sometimes that seems like an easy way out, though. But Jesus sent His disciples into the world, not away from it.

We need other people in our lives to encourage us and correct us. The COVID pandemic forced us into isolation. It became possible to “attend” church by watching a screen. It required little effort. We heard the same sermon and even worshipped to the same music. But we weren’t “doing life” together.

Together is better

A lot of people didn’t return after we got the “all clear.” But for those of us who did, we learned how valuable our Christian community is. The writer of Hebrews encouraged believers to “spur one another on.” Those Hebrew believers were being persecuted for their faith. Yet they were encouraged to continue meeting together because it brings strength. Millions of Christians in our world face similar persecution. Their testimonies make it clear that community gives strength.

Practice makes us look like Jesus

Last, we should examine our practices and see how they line up with what we know to be true. I like the word practice. The dictionary defines practice as “the actual application or use of an idea, belief or method as opposed to theories relating to it.” Also, “repeated exercise in or performance of an activity so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.”

No matter how much we study, we must apply our faith to practice. And repeated exercise helps us improve proficiency. We won’t always be perfect. But as we continue to put our faith in action, our lives will reflect our belief.

I’m thankful that I’m not the same person I was 5 years ago. Or last year. I’m grateful that I can see that I’m more “Jesus-shaped” than I was before. I bet you can also.

The people in our faith community can see it too. And they can tell us where we still need work.

Let’s commit to spurring one another on.

 

*The idea for this article comes from The Jesus Shaped Life, c. 2025 by Lisa Harper. Published by Revell. 

** Lectio 365 is an app produced by the 24/7 ministry. For more information, or to download the app, visit their website at www.24-7prayer.com