The Character of Christ (10): Seeing People for Who They Can Become

It is amazing to see how beautiful the personality of Jesus is, as we continue to behold Him through the pages of scripture, so that we can become more and more conformed to His likeness. A close look at the way He related with people while He was a man on the earth reveals clearly that He saw people for who they could become. He didn't condemn or write off people. He didn't fall into the trap of seeing people for who they were at the moment or who the entire society thought they were, instead He saw people for who they were meant to be. He chose to see beyond the negative to allow God transform lives through Him. He saw what people could become despite their current despicable state. He didn’t write people off because of their present circumstance. He always brought out the best in people.

Let’s take a look at three different people out of the many examples in the bible that give us a clear picture of this aspect of our Lord's personality. The first is Mary Magdalene. The bible records her as the woman out of whom Jesus had initially cast out seven demons and as the first person He appeared to early in the morning after He rose from the dead (Mark 16:9). After the Lord delivered her from demonic oppression, she became so devoted to Him that she stayed with Him all through His trial and hours on the cross (Matt. 27:56). She was right there when the large stone was rolled against the door of His tomb (Matt. 27:61), she was one of the women who bought spices and rose up very early the morning after the Sabbath day to anoint His body (Mark 16:1), and she stayed weeping outside the tomb when she thought that His body had been taken away from where He was laid even when His disciples chose to go back home after seeing the empty tomb (John 20:10-11). What a huge change! You see, when Jesus first saw Mary possessed with evil spirits, He saw beyond that. He saw a woman who would become a devout believer and useful in God’s hands. He saw a woman who would stay with Him all through His torture and crucifixion even when His disciples ran away. He saw a woman who would be the messenger to tell the disciples that the He is risen (John 20:18). He saw a woman who would be one of the founding members of the early church (Acts 1:14).

The second person is the man who used to live in the tombs in the country of the Gadarenes. In the gospel according to Mark, the bible records that, on His trip to that country, immediately He came out of the boat, "there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled" (Mark 5:1-20). Again, we can see here that when Jesus initially saw the man, He didn’t see a violent lunatic, He didn’t regard Him as hopeless, rather He saw a man who would evangelize the entire ten cities (meaning of Decapolis). He saw an evangelist not a lunatic.

Finally, the third person we’ll consider is Apostle Peter. Jesus told him, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt 16:18). He said this to Peter even though He knew he’ll deny Him 3 times (Mark 14:66-72), He said it even though Peter was still worldly in His thinking at the time, which is obvious as He rebuked him just a few moments later as recorded in Matt 16:23, “But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’” He saw beyond Peter’s present idiosyncrasies, He saw a man whose preaching would yield three thousand converts in one day (Acts 2:41), He saw a man who would walk in the power of the Spirit to bring healing and deliverance to lives (Acts 3:8), He saw a man who would boldly speak the truth in the face of persecution (Acts 4:14), He saw a man who would be a major leader of the early church.

Friends, let us examine ourselves. Are you always quick to write people off or do you see them through the eyes of the potential that God has deposited within them? Do you focus on people's weaknesses and faults or do you look beyond their current situation and allow God use you bring out the best in them?

Every day we have a choice to help bring something great out of others or to overlook them, discount them or be so focused on our own gain that we simply shun them.

Oh Lord, transform us into your likeness, help us to see people for who they can become like you always do! Amen

The Character of Christ (9): A Man of Prayer

Jesus, during His days as a man on the earth, was a man of prayer. He was constantly in communication with God, the Father. He had an unbroken fellowship and intimacy with God. The bible makes us to understand clearly in Luke 5:16, that He often withdrew Himself from the crowd to quiet places to be alone with the Father. His prayer life was as a result of His love for the Father not an act of duty. He loves the Father so much that He couldn't bear losing touch with Him. This is the very reason why He felt a great agony on the cross at that point when the Father turned His face away from Him because He had taken our sins upon Himself and the Father couldn't behold/fellowship with sin (Hab. 1:13). That moment on the cross was the only time He ever lost fellowship with the Father which was why He cried out with a loud voice, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me" (Matt 27:46)?

Jesus was very diligent in prayer. He prayed continually; it was His lifestyle. His prayer life wasn't sporadic by any means. In the gospel according to Mark, it was recorded that, “in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35). This is an important anecdote because it gives us a clear insight into our Lord's attitude towards prayer, based on the fact that the morning that this verse refers to was the morning after a busy day teaching in the synagogue, casting out unclean spirits, healing Peter's mother in law, and a busy evening healing many who were sick with various diseases, and casting out many demons. He wasn’t lazy in prayer. He didn't neglect spending time with the Father while citing a busy schedule as an excuse. He woke up early to pray, He even prayed all night as recorded in Luke 6:12, "Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."

Jesus prayed for wisdom and revelation in His earthly ministry (John 5:30). As a man, He drew the strength and power for all the miracles He performed from the secret place of prayer and fellowship with the Father (Mark 6:45-48). He knew the Father was the source of His strength, and the place of prayer was His point of connection and also that He could do nothing once He became detached from the Father. He interceded for His twelve disciples and for souls (John 17:11, 20-21). He prayed for the will of God. He prayed fervently with honesty and reverence. He prayed with thanksgiving and praise to God, the Father (Mark 14:22, Luke 10:21). He prayed in times of anguish (Luke 22:44, Heb. 5:7).

Friends, if Jesus could have prayed, how much more we? If the very Son of God, the word of life personified, could have been so devoted to prayer, how much more we? Our aim as believers and disciples of Jesus should be to make prayer our lifestyle like our master did. Let us examine ourselves. Are you slothful in prayer? Are your prayers mainly about yourself or do you care about others? Do you really love spending time fellowshipping with the Father or do you merely endure it as a routine? Do you go to God in prayer only when you are in trouble? Are you too busy to pray (even busy doing good things)?

He said, "Men always ought to pray and not lose heart." (Luke 18:1)

Oh Lord, transform us into your likeness, help us to be devoted to prayer like you! Amen.

The Character of Christ (8): Obedience to the Father

Jesus is the perfect example of obedience to the will of God, the Father. As we look into the scriptures we see evidently that while He walked on the face of the earth, He didn’t do just anything He wanted at any time. He was completely resolute in carrying out the will of God no matter how difficult or painful it was. His complete submission to the will of God is seen clearly while He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His crucifixion. It was recorded in the Gospel according to Matthew that He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matt. 26:39). He was sorrowful and deeply distressed because of His imminent suffering and death, yet He didn’t disappear or find another way to avoid the cross and change God’s redemptive plan. He pressed on in obedience. And then, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matt. 26:42). And thereafter He gave up Himself willingly as the Lamb of God for slaughter.

He was completely surrendered to the will of God. He said to the Jews, “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak” (John 12:49); “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30).

He didn’t just obey God whenever it was convenient, but at all times and in all things. During His sermon on the mount, He made a profound statement that unravels the gravity/seriousness of obedience to the will of God. He said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matt. 7:21-23). Ah! Only those who do the will of the Father will enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Let us examine our hearts. Do you live according to the will of God or do what you wish? Do you live in obedience to the word of God? Do you take time to listen to God and know His will before making decisions? Is your life driven by the will of God or your own dreams? Do you obey God’s leading no matter how difficult or only when it is convenient?

The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:17). Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Eph. 5:17)

Oh Lord, transform us into your likeness, help us to be completely obedient to the will of God like you! Amen.