Merry Christmas! I can’t think of a better topic today than modeling Jesus. Christ came into our world–and our hearts.

27 It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory.

We don’t have to try to look like Jesus.
When we spend time with Him, we become like Him.

Most people think that modeling Jesus is to follow all the commands in the New Testament given by Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, John, Jude and the writer of Hebrews (Whew!). Actually, the reason they wrote what they wrote is because they spent time with Jesus. Spending time with Jesus changes a person. His values become our values; His love becomes our love. It shows up in the form of compassion. We cannot manufacture compassion; it comes from the heart, and that’s Jesus’ domain. When He rules our hearts, then we will see people as He sees them and we will have compassion on them.

To me, the Gospel is connecting people with Jesus. When we act like Christ to a person, a server at a restaurant for example, the Spirit uses our actions as an avenue to speak to that server. It may be that the person begins to warm to the urging of the Spirit. When enough Christians model Jesus to him/her, then the server will begin to seek people who know Jesus and begin asking questions. That’s the time when we share Christ with them. In this entire scenario, we must remember that the Spirit is the One working in us and through us, and thus, all glory goes to the Father. It is also the Spirit who is working in the server’s life drawing him to Christ. Jesus said,

³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32

Jesus came to initiate the plan to be with us and in us. We have been invited to join in the Fellowship of the Trinity. Trust me, when we actively spend time with the Father/Son/Spirit, we will be transformed into the likeness of Jesus! People are drawn to Jesus, so let’s model Him. Let’s be like Jesus with the people around Him,

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless [spiritually], like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36

We don’t have to share the Roman Road or go into a full-blown presentation of the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. All we need to do is spend enough time with the Trinity to be Christ to those around us. He will draw them to Himself. We, indeed, must be ready to give an explanation about why we act and believe the way we do, but we don’t have to start with it. Building bridges (trust) and relationships is our first and foremost goal.

I pray you have a great Christmas today as we celebrate the Incarnation of the Son of God.

Abba, I lift up my readers that You would reveal Yourself to them as they seek Your face in prayer, Bible study, fellowship and discussion, and in whatever they do today. Just experiencing and enjoying Your presence is enough. Thank You for coming to save us, Lord Jesus. We are forever grateful. Amen.