Reflecting the Presence of Jesus Christ

Matthew 5:48

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

When Jesus spoke to His disciples, He knew full well that they were incapable of being perfect.  He was asking them to consider the manner in which they represented Him.  He wanted their behavior to distinguish them from others in the world around them.  He wanted them to be living examples of the good character representative of His kingdom.

We are most comfortable in life when we are around people we like.  We also feel comfortable when we are asked to do things that we know that we are capable of doing successfully.  In these times of ease, our personality and our capabilities shine and our performance appears to be nearly perfect.  Unfortunately, this type of behavior, while pleasing to some, many times does not reflect the presence and character of the One who dwells within us.  Thus it does not produce enough fruit to draw the world to Our Savior.  It truly affects little.

 

On the other hand, when we purposely follow the perfect example of Jesus, we allow the fruits of the Holy Spirit to flow through us.  The world around us sees the modeling of Our Savior and is drawn to Him.  It is our duty as Christians to desire to press forward in grace and holiness, so that we may conform ourselves to the example of Jesus Christ under even the most difficult circumstances. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to be our perfect model for life.  We thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to guide us to follow Jesus' example.  We rejoice in knowing that our obedience will result in the gifts of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the world around us.  We pray that we may exhibit unusual grace, gentleness, faithfulness, loving kindness, patience, self-control and goodness as we are being taxed by our situations.  May You receive all the praise and glory, Lord.  We ask all these things in the name of the perfect Son of the Most High God, Jesus Christ.