It’s pretty clear from reading Scriptures that Jesus was a person whom others wanted to be around.
Jesus was likeable, personable, approachable.
Those who didn’t like him were the very people you would expect to embrace his arrival- the religious leaders.
It’s fascinating isn’t it?
The “sinners” (tax collectors, prostitutes, etc) were drawn to Jesus.
The “religious” people were offended by Jesus.
The “sinners” were the people Jesus corrected gently.
The “religious” were the people Jesus corrected harshly.
The “sinners” saw their need for Him and as a result their lives were restored.
The “religious” were blinded to their need for Him and as a result crucified Him.
Which category would you fall into? Would you have been drawn to Jesus or offended by Him?
Sometimes it seems like Christians are trying harder to impress the Christian pop culture of today rather than introduce our Savior to the lonely and broken people all around us. I’m just as guilty.
Being like Jesus isn’t always popular, but sometimes it seems like the most unpopular place to be like Jesus is around “religious” people, or the people who think they have it all together.
So how can we become more like Jesus? How can we become approachable? For starters, here are three ways. I’m sure I could think of a dozen more, but I bet if we work on at least one of these, we would start to see some change.
- Genuinely care. When we look at people the way God does our perspective of them changes. This one is on my prayer list for myself right now. I struggle with this big time, but God’s working on my heart.
- Be joyful. Did you know joyfulness is a command? I Thess. 5: 16 says, “Always be joyful.” Sometimes Christians are the most dreary people to be around.
- Show love. If you forget what it looks like to show love, read I Corinthians 13. Are you patient? Are you kind? How would your non-Christian co-workers describe your character?