Compassion

7 Ways To Be 33 and Jewish

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment
Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/@levimeirclancy

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans 8:29)

Thirty-three and Jewish isn’t an original phrase of my own. I recently heard it while listening to a podcast where the host was speaking to a guest about being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

I’m not one of those people who long to go back in time. In reality, the thought of being thirty-three years old again gives me the shivers. On the other hand, I did take a DNA test several years ago. Being adopted, I wondered about my origins. I was hoping, really hoping, the test would reveal some Jewish blood in me somewhere. I would have been proud to carry a small bit of Jesus’ biological lineage. Sadly, it wasn’t to be. I was disappointed that I can’t boast of even a smidgen of Jewish descent.

The phrase 33 and Jewish got me to thinking not only about my DNA test results, but about the many other ways I desire to be conformed to his image.

Colossians 1:16 assures us that the man, Jesus Christ, “…is the image of the invisible God…” He is our example in all things.

7 Ways We Should Aspire To Be Like Jesus

1. We should love like Jesus.

We like to think of ourselves as loving people. The truth is that’s it’s easy to love those who love us in return. It’s much more challenging to love those who don’t love us, and may never. This is the kind of love Jesus has for each of us. He chose the ultimate act of selfless love toward us when we were unlovable. We are called to love in the same fashion.

“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7-8)

2. We should serve like Jesus.

Most of us are busy working for the Lord, but it’s easy to forget that all of our busyness should be done with an attitude of servitude. Jesus served. We are ministers. Ministers serve. Perhaps our hectic schedules, multitasking and checking all the boxes need to be slowed down in order to take inventory of why we are doing all the things. Is it for a sense of achievement? Position? Recognition? Or is it to be a servant in God’s Kingdom?

“He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.“ (John 13:4-5)

3. We should pray & fast like Jesus.

Although He was God manifest in the flesh, Jesus was indeed a man who had to keep His flesh submitted to the Spirit. He could have lived His life in any way He chose, but too much was at stake. The souls of all mankind hung in the balance, and everyone He crossed paths with had a need. The only way He could fulfill the mission He came for was to stay in prayer and fasting often. It was His habit to wake up early before sunrise to pray. Prayer was the way Jesus was victorious.

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.“ (Mark 1:35)

4. We should be compassionate like Jesus.

I love this character trait of Jesus. When He saw hurting, sick, sinful, wayward people, he felt compassion for them. He looked over the city of Jerusalem, and wept with compassion for the lost. He wept at Lazarus’ grave even though He knew He would raise him up. He stopped a funeral procession, and raised a grieving woman’s only son back to life. He fed the multitudes who were faint with hunger. If we want to be disciples of Jesus, we must find a level of compassion for the lost, hungry, sick and wayward.

“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.“ (Matthew 9:36)

5. We should forgive like Jesus.

No one in history has endured the physical and emotional trauma that Jesus endured. Crucifixion was the most excruciatingly painful death a person could endure. Roman soldiers used it to inflict the maximum level of pain while drawing the process of death out slowly. Not only did Jesus endure the mocking, beating and heinous crucifixion, He did so as an innocent and  sinless man, taking on the wages of humanity’s sins. Yet hanging on the cross, weary, wounded, bloody and exposed, He prayed mercy for the soldiers who were inflicting his anguish.

 “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.“ (Luke 23:34)

6. We should be obedient like Jesus.

We want to be obedient to God’s will in all things. When God’s will crosses paths with our personal desires, however, do we always choose His will over ours? Jesus lived a life of obedience to the will of the Spirit even unto death. He was in the prime of his humanity at thirty-three years old. He could have taught more, healed more, traveled more, even married a wife and raised a family. As a man, he no doubt desired those things. Yet, in the garden he prayed, “…nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.“ (Philippians 2:8)

7. We should manifest the fruit of the Spirit Jesus.

Throughout His thirty-three years, Jesus manifested all nine of the fruit of the Spirit to their fullest. In order to have the fruit of the Spirit active in our lives, we must be filled with the Spirit, which Jesus was. These nine manifestations of the Spirit of God should be one of our main goals in life. Not only on special occasions, but as a daily mirror of Jesus’ nature shining through us to a lost world.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

In Summary

It’s my great desire, and I hope it is yours as well, to be more like Jesus. Being 33 and Jewish sounds like an appropriate life goal for a Christian. (Wink)

Warm Regards In Jesus’ Name!

-Pat-

The God of 2nd Chances

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment
Photo by Steve Knutson on Unsplash

Back in the last century when I was a freshman in high school, I was on a class trip out of state. We had just finished our meal at a fast food restaurant. Dropping our trash in the receptacles, I was approached by a homeless man. He said he was hungry, and asked for food.

I wish I could say that compassion flooded my soul, and I allowed Jesus to minister to this man through me. Sadly, the opposite is true. It was the first time I had ever been confronted by the raw needs of humanity. I didn’t know how to respond. I was shocked to be approached so directly. I was shocked that someone expected me to do something about their situation.

Surrounded by my peer group, I was concerned with what they might think. What would they do if he had approached them? And what if he was faking his plight? Maybe this was his way to get out of actually working…Why did I care so much what everyone thought? More importantly, how did I become so jaded at fifteen?

While I was trying to decide the acceptable protocol, another young lady in our group didn’t hesitate. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a few bills and change she had left from her purchase, and placed it in his outstretched hand.

“Enjoy your meal, Sir,” she said with confidence and compassion in her voice.

Immediately, I felt a spectrum of emotions. Embarrassment and humiliation were at the forefront. While I was trying to decide what to do, my own peer stepped in and did what needed to be done. It was a hard lesson learned that day. The most important being the need for compassion. I’ve carried the memory of that one hungry man for over four decades. It has helped me navigate through many interactions with the hurts of humanity.

Fast forward forty plus years…

I was sitting in a restaurant miles away from home with my peer group of ministry friends. We were talking, laughing and generally enjoying a sense of belonging. As we walked to our table, I had noticed out of my peripheral vision, a man sitting alone. No one ever came to sit with him.

When our food arrived, we clued in to why the sandwiches we ordered were called “freighters.” Each one was cut in half, and both halves took up almost the whole plate, leaving only a small spot for fries. We laughed and ate together, distracted from the man sitting alone by our food and fellowship.

After several minutes of good food and playful banter, I noticed the man walk to the counter to pay. He was carrying a backpack. Not paying a lot of attention, I thought I heard the cashier say, “You’re okay.” After which, he left the restaurant. A few seconds later, I shared glances with the friend sitting closest to me who also had a clear view of the counter area. She said, “I wonder if he had anything to eat.” She had heard the man tell the cashier he didn’t have the money to pay for the coffee.

I think both of us felt like we had missed a moment to help someone in need, and now the man was gone. I focused my attention back to the “freighter” on my plate. It just got bigger on my plate, and dryer in my mouth the more I chewed. My mind refused to unfocus from the man carrying the backpack. What if he was hungry? I remembered the hungry man in the fast food restaurant over forty years earlier. That feeling of embarrassment and humiliation was back, but another emotion was stronger. Compassion. What if he was still outside the restaurant, and hungry?

I couldn’t chew another bite until I found out. I got up from the table and headed to the front door. Stepping outside into the sunlight, I saw him. He was sitting on a bench just outside with his backpack beside him.

“Are you hungry?” I asked. He replied with a simple, “Yes.”

I told him to stay right there, and I would be back. Stepping back inside the restaurant, I asked for a to go box. I put the untouched half of my freighter in which took up half the box. Even more food was added when everyone realized my mission.

When I took it out to him, it felt really good to be able to look him in the eyes and say, “Enjoy your meal.” My half of the freighter also tasted good again, and I no longer had to swallow it past the lump in my throat.

SECOND CHANCES

We’ve heard over and over how God is a God of 2nd chances, and He certainly is. Usually, we are referring to the continual opportunities he grants us to be Born Again, or to come back to Him in repentance. Yes, ABSOLUTELY!

He’s also the God of 2nd chances when He’s teaching us to follow the leading of the Holy Ghost, and when He is teaching us how to hear His voice, and be sensitive to the moving of His Spirit.

He is constantly schooling us in the art of handling humanity. His people. Not only those who are sanctified and in His service, but also those who are banged up, running, going through a hard season they’ve brought on themselves by terrible choices, and even the brash & crusty ones.

Thankfully, He keeps giving us chance after chance to get it right. He’s the God of 2nd chances.

What has He given you 2nd chances to learn and apply in your walk with Him?

Warm Regards,

~Pat Vick~.

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