All of our Christian lives, we have been told Jesus is our example, and rightly so. He was our example as He lived on this earth for 33 ½ years in first-century Roman-occupied Palestine—specifically in Galilee and Judea. We were told Jesus is an example FOR us, so we read about Him in the gospels and set out on the daunting task of trying to live like He did. Assuming God expects us to live up to the perfect life of Jesus, we begin striving to align our thoughts, actions, and to His. We try to love our worst enemies, overcome every single temptation, and always do the right thing. We begin to do things to be just like Jesus in every area of lives. This is a full-time job and really difficult to give your attention to, since we are busy with the responsibilities of everyday living. We go vast periods of the day not remembering Him, therefore falling short of His example. As a result, we become discouraged, feel like a failure, and live under the heavy weight of self-condemnation. So, we sincerely “repent”—maybe even with tears—and earnestly try to do better, only to fail again. And so goes the frustration cycle. We are sure to get burned out endeavoring to become something we are not. Our experience begins to align with all the accusations of the enemy, and we become convinced “something is wrong with ME”. By this point, we are thoroughly sin-conscious and firmly in the grip of shame. We are haunted by the words of Jesus about bringing life and bringing if abundantly. And the thought that there is no condemnation in Christ, seem inconceivable. Our entire, fervent pursuit of Christ-like behavior is a “crash and burn” failure. If any of this sounds familiar, hang on for some good news. What if Jesus was not an example FOR us to strive to imitate; but rather, an example OF us? With all of the delusion of “the fall” broken off of us by the finished work of Christ, we have new eyes to see who we truly are. We are images of almighty God. We carry the DNA of our Father. We are completely at home in the love dance of the Trinity. As the risen, glorified, exalted Christ currently is, so are we in the earth. He is our life. For us to live is Christ. We are everything He is and nothing He is not. Jesus in His incarnation was modeling not what we should be, but who we truly are as humans. We are not traced back to fallen Adam; rather, we are who we were in the mind of God before we were created. He alone defines us. We refuse to be defined by events, connection, performance or achievements. We must shake off the delusion and wake up the reality of our true identity. We are not engaged in a winless battle of struggling to become something we are not. We are joyfully waking up to who we have always been in the mind of the loving Trinity. We spontaneously live Christ-like lives when we lock eyes with His and experience His love and delight in us.
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