BEhave Like Jesus

Imagine walking into a grocery store, and as you walk down the chips aisle, you suddenly see a kid throw himself to the ground and begin crying loudly. If the kid looks like an 18-month-old, you might smile as the mom rolls her eyes and patiently says, "Get up." Why might you smirk at this scene? Because you expect a one-and-a-half-year-old to not have the emotional maturity to know how to respond to the disappointment of not getting Doritos.

But what if the kid looks to be ten-years-old? You probably wouldn't smile, and the Mom probably wouldn't give a simple eye-roll. Rather, you'd think to yourself, "Good grief! Grow up kid!" while you might hear the Mom say with an exasperated voice, "Act your age!"

Why are you and the ten-year-old's Mom thinking and saying such rebuke-filled statements? Because our society has certain expectations for the behavior of a ten-year-old.

Act Your Spiritual Age

In the fifth chapter of Hebrews, the author shows frustration with his readers like a mom watching her ten-year-old throw a temper tantrum in the grocery store. He says,

"For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food..." (Hebrews 5:12, ESV)

Clearly, the author of Hebrews felt his "ten-year-olds" should have been enjoying spiritual steak, yet they were stuck consuming "milk" like newborns. They hadn't matured in mind and heart. If his readers had been spiritual infants, it would be an entirely different matter. He wouldn't have rebuked them for their immaturity. Yet the fact the Holy Spirit inspired him to write such words meant they weren't growing spiritually like they should have been.

While we find ourselves living almost two thousand years later, the same issue still plagues "Christians" today. Many people claim to follow Jesus, yet their behavior is anything but Christlike. They are more known for their narrow-mindedness, anger issues, political affiliation, selfishness, and hypocrisy than they are for the love and grace of Christ. They lack the maturity they should have by now.

How to Grow Up into Christlikeness

So how do you mature into the image of Jesus? Well, for you to "BE" like Jesus, you have to "BEhave" like Him. And for that to happen, you have to keep your focus on Christ and the gospel daily.

Are you struggling with...

• forgiving someone? Look to Christ who forgave you through the cross. (Ephesians 4:32)
• an addiction? Seek Christ who has set you free. (Galatians 5:1)
• anger? Focus on the peace of Christ, who will justly work on your behalf. (Romans 12:19-21)
• giving generously? Remember the self-sacrifice of Christ, who was God's "inexpressible gift" to you. (2 Corinthians 9:15)
• gossip? Ask Christ through the Holy Spirit to help you build others up with honor rather than tear them down through gossip. (Romans 12:10)

And how can a Jesus-follower keep his or her focus on Christ? Through prayer, Scripture, worship, service, giving, accountability, confession, and the ways of the Spirit.

If you haven't been BEhaving like Jesus, take a moment to confess it, then take the steps you need to right the wrongs. Don't waste your time beating yourself up for the ways you've fallen short, rather live in God's grace, knowing that...

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9 ESV)

Then go and be a blessing to others as an "imitator of God." (Ephesians 5:1)