There is a story told that one day Francis of Assisi was wandering through a little Italian village. Suddenly a humble peasant came out from behind a hedge, tugged at his sleeve, and said, “Good master, I pray thee, be as good as we think you are!” Someone once said that “God’s imperative to the church is: Be what you are!” Who are we? We, as the church, are the Body of Christ on the earth. We are the image bearers. We are spiritually born into union with the risen Jesus. Christlikeness is not so much an aspiration to strive for, as it is a fact to adjust to. It’s is certainly something that we grow in, but not because we ever get more of Him, but because He increasingly gets more of us. According to Galatians 2:20, Christ is alive, and is living in each of us right now, and Colossians 3:4 says he wants to reveal himself through us right now. The world is looking for authenticity, and human authenticity is only found in Christ. He is the truth and the life. Jn. 8:12, says that Jesus is the light of the world, and Matt. 5:14, says that we are the light of the world. We are the light of the world because we carry, and are in union with the light of the world. Jesus didn’t just overcome in the world by living a life of holiness in The Spirit, but He overcame the world by being the love of God at the bottom of human need, one person at a time. Remember the love of God doesn’t just manifest sympathy; it manifest compassion which releases resurrection and redemption into lives and situations. Jesus’ love didn’t only feel bad for the captive; it, in power, set the captive free; healed the broken-hearted; and restored sight to the blind. May you be the true Body of Christ today. As we move among the lost, broken, and lonely today, may we be “as good as they think we are.”
