walking as jesus walked
Making Disciples the way Jesus Did
So , there was this guy John , who knew Jesus really well . So well that he referred to himself as “ the disciple whom Jesus loved .” John wrote to some people he cared deeply about , asserting that “… whoever claims to live in Jesus , must walk as Jesus walked ( I John 2:6 ).”
The first time a friend of mine pointed this out to me , everything inside of me rose up and rejected it . Is this even possible ?! Jesus was God ! He was perfect ! He walked on water ! I ’ m a human . I ’ ve clearly demonstrated I ’ m not even close to perfect . ( Not to mention , I can only walk on water if it ’ s frozen .)
How overwhelming to even suggest this . I honestly felt condemned by it . Preposterous . All of this didn ’ t sit well with me . It got under my skin . I had read this letter written by John many times before , why hadn ’ t I noticed that he had said this ? Was it possible that I actually had noticed it , but passed over it as it didn ’ t fit in with my prior conclusions ? Maybe . There was something true about it , however , no matter how much it bothered me or made me feel less than .
Why did John say it ? Maybe John was just setting up an unattainable standard for us to realize how utterly hopeless we are , and how bad we needed Jesus ? Another way to motivate better behavior ? ‘ Behave better !’ ‘ Be more like Jesus !’
In the WAJW workbook , quoting Dick Staub , Dann Spader revealed :
“ I came to see Jesus as the great humanizer . I realized that He did not come to start a new religion ; He came to rehumanize dehumanized humans , to restore the luster of God ’ s image so we can again glow with God ’ s holistic presence spiritually , intellectually , creatively , morally , and relationally . Jesus came to earth to restore fallen humans to fully human beings regardless of their ethnicity , nationality , gender , and economic , educational , or social status ( p . 36 ).”
Do you desire to ‘ glow with God ’ s holistic presence ?’
Our 513FREE team has been going through WAJW , and has flourished as Dann has been illuminating Jesus in a way that we simply didn ’ t realize before . Often we study theologies , or we look for specific solutions to our specific problems . But how many of us are actually looking at Jesus as God ’ s solution ?!
Jesus , full of the Holy Spirit , led His disciples in a way that resulted in them being the humans God designed them to be . Walking as Jesus Walked is a tool to help us see this is for us as well . I am really enthused that this resource is accessible for you . May all of us follow Jesus and ‘ walk as Jesus walked .’
Walking as Jesus Walked Introduction by Chris VanDyke , 513FREE
That certainly fit in with much of my North American , Evangelical church experience . Or at least my interpretation of it . Is this just another manipulation tactic for us to self-loath and hope that God spares us through Jesus ? As if I needed more of that . Do I simply ignore it with a dismissive ‘ oh well , Jesus is forgiving , He knows I can ’ t live up to that ?’ I wasn ’ t sure , but after my 20 years of growing up exposed to many church teachings and another 20 years of studying various theologies , I was pretty confident I wasn ’ t going to be walking as Jesus walked as that would be impossible .... But it kept going through my head ... I just couldn ’ t shake it .
Is any of this sentiment familiar to you ? Maybe so . If not , I hope you are at least amused at my ramblings enough to have gotten this far because here comes the important part . Yes , Jesus was sentenced to death on the cross for our sins , and I don ’ t want to take anything away from that whatsoever , but here ’ s the thing many of us miss : He also rose from the dead and desires to give us His Spirit , the Holy Spirit , so that we can live like He did . He lived a fully human life the way God intended us to live ! Intimate with God the Father . No , we will never BE Jesus . But God absolutely desires , and did what it took , for us to walk as Jesus walked , empowered by His Spirit !
Inmates , please check with your chaplain to see if Dann Spader ’ s book , Walking as Jesus Walked , is available to read in your library or chapel . We ’ re thankful for Moody Publisher and Sonlife Ministry for their generosity in helping us to put this book in each of the prison chapel libraries throughout the state of Wisconsin .
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