Walk in Him

What does it mean to walk like Jesus? Rather, is it even possible to walk like Jesus in the 21st century?

By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:5b-6)

This is an impossible calling if you are drowning in society’s whirlpool of tit for tat. I know you are just barely able to flail your hands and feet around to keep your head above the fray. After all, losing our patience and lashing out unlovingly to the world at large is a far better alternative than loving people who hate you enough to throw you off your cool. There is no doubt in my mind that this statement was written to challenge believers of all levels to copy Jesus’ example of rising above society. The real question is how can we copy Jesus? It is actually simple: prioritize what is important and then act accordingly. The reason most of us explode on other people with rage and anger is because we are selfish and feel jilted by the “injustice” done upon us. The reason we feel jilted is because we consider ourselves or the things that we see as more important in the grand scheme of things than the idiots that make us angry. But if we really understood priorities, we would see that God cares more about the idiots that get us angry and do stupid things than out feelings toward them. Moreover, if we would see that our priority should be loving those dummies, we would not be as angry or jilted. Jesus asked the Father to forgive the people who crucified him without cause. He did this, not because he knew he was better than them, but because he knew that they would pay dearly. Jesus had his heart broken because idiot people. To his last breath, he loved them enough to pray forgiveness. If we know that people do stupid things that make us angry because they are too selfish to see real priorities, then we should not behave like them. Instead, we should walk in Jesus’ footsteps and love people enough to beseech God on their behalf. You may not love ’em, but God does, and so you should walk in love.