UNQUESTIONABLE CHRIST-LIKE BEHAVIOR

I am thinking of behavior patterns that I ought to exhibit that will be biblically unquestionable. Obviously they will be copied from Christ who is our perfect model. And they will be clearly supported from biblical text which is our perfect instruction. May I share a few that are on my mind and that I have shared with Salem Baptist Church in recent months. These particular behaviors were prompted in my thinking by some long forgotten journal article that I read. If you were the original author, thank you. I am grateful for your splendid ideas based on the Word of God. Among the principles of the Word of God that I long to implement in my life are the following:

I WILL PRACTICE FORGIVING OTHERS AS CHRIST HAS FORGIVEN ME – MATTHEW 6:12; 14-15.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32.

I will stand ready to forgive injuries inflicted in the past. There are lots of unresolved issues in my heart. Some have to do with past hurts and injuries. The memory and hurt linger yet. It’s time to settle the issues once and for all. To many that means have it out with the perpetrator. To God it means stand ready to forgive the perpetrator.

I will also stand ready to forgive hurts that occur in the future. May those who injure me see the Lord in me and want to serve Lord because of me. When one squeezes an orange he will get orange juice, and when one squeezes me he will get whatever is in me. May I display the grace, love and mercy of my Savior when I am squeezed.

Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was reminded one day of a vicious deed that someone had done to her years before. But she acted as if she had never even heard of the incident. “Don’t you remember it?” her friend asked. “No,” came Barton’s reply, “I distinctly remember forgetting it.”

Luis Palau, “Experiencing God’s Forgiveness,” Multnomah Press, 1985.

I WILL CULTIVATE THE HABIT OF TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK – MATTHEW 5:39-41.

I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide my face from shame and spitting. Isaiah 50:6.

W henever someone is rude, impatient or unkind, I will not strike back. I must remember it is not about me. I am a vehicle to bring glory to God. The situation is present for that purpose – God’s glory. Question is, How can I glorify God in this situation?

Always attack the problem and never the person. A soft answer really does turn away wrath. I won’t attack a person or his character. I will put off words that tear down. I will find a way to identify and address the real issue. I will put on words that build up.

I WILL PRAY THAT GOD WILL BLESS MY ENEMIES – MATTHEW 5:43-45.

And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin, And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:59-60.

When someone opposes me, I will quietly ask God to bless that person(s). My tendency is to think about it until I explode. And sometimes my tendency is to tell others so they will side with me. And if I pray at all, my tendency is to pray that God would judge them. But now I choose to do differently.

In Christianity Today, psychiatrist Robert Coles told an amazing story of a girl who had learned to pray for those who were hostile to her. Coles was in New Orleans in 1960 when a federal judge ruled that the city schools must be integrated. A 6-year-old girl, Ruby Bridges, was the only African-American child to attend the William T. Frantz School . Every day for weeks as she entered and left the building, a mob would be standing outside to scream at her and threaten her. They shook their fists, shouted obscenities, and threatened to kill her. One day her teacher saw her lips moving as she walked through the crowd, flanked by federal marshals. When the teacher told Coles about it, he asked Ruby if she was talking to the people. “I wasn’t talking to them,” she replied. “I was just saying a prayer for them” Coles asked her, “Why do you do that?” Because they need praying for,” came her reply. Our Daily Bread

I believe that God has given us these principles as standards he expects us to live. We each live with the age old adage, please be patient, God is not finished with me yet. But let us be progressing along the continuum to Christ-likeness.