More like Jesus

09/19/12 More Like Jesus Many of us have asked the Lord to make us more like the Lord Jesus. This kind of heart-felt prayer is the kind that God will answer because His will for all His people is that we be conform to the image of His Son (Rom.8:29). But how does God do this? One answer is that He gives us opportunities to be show the same kind of mercy to others that Jesus shows to us. 1 Samuel 24 gives us an example of a man who was being conformed into the image of the One who died for us. Even though God had already anointed David as the next king through the prophet Samuel, Saul still wanted to kill David. We find David hiding in a cave with Saul in hot pursuit. While there were many caves in the area Saul decides to relieve himself in the one that David and his men were hiding in. David’s men thought this was a divinely appointed opportunity to kill Saul and then he would become the rightful king. But David refused to take matters into his own hands. Instead of killing him as he deserved, David showed mercy. Unknown to Saul, David cut of the corner of the king’s robe. When Saul was at a safe distance David revealed to Saul what he had done. David said that he could not kill the one whom God had appointed; instead he left judgment to the Lord. Even wicked Saul realized the righteousness of David. “Then he [Saul] said to David: "You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil (24:17). Here is a picture of our Lord. The Righteous One rewards us with good when we should have been judged and sentenced to die! God was conforming David into the image of our Lord by giving him opportunities to reward evil with good. Someone has said that we should do all the good we can, in all the ways we can, to all the people we can, as long as we can. If you really want to be like Jesus, our gracious Lord and God will give you opportunities to good, even if it is to the ones who wish to harm you. Prayer: Father, It’s not easy to love your enemies and go good to them. Fill me with Your Spirit, open my eyes to see the opportunities that you created and planned for me, and give me what I need to act and speak as if it were the Lord Jesus himself. In His name amen.