You may wonder why ask this question. Shouldn’t Christians act the same all the time? The answer is NO! We should always be growing and changing, seeking to be more like Christ until the day we die. That is what Paul is speaking of in Romans 8:29. “For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.” When God created mankind, he made us in His image. This means in the beginning, we had the capacity to imitate His holiness. We were without sin. Adam and Eve could have resisted temptation, but they chose to rebel against God. They became defiled and lost their capacity to be holy. Now, we must seek to be holy by accepting Jesus as our Savior and Lord. When He becomes our Master, His Spirit dwells within us to aid us in becoming like Him. During this pandemic, we have more opportunities than ever before to act in a way that would be glorifying to God and show others the Christ within us. We are to act as Christ would act.
Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
I Peter 2:22 “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”
I John 2:6 “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
I Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
So, how does this “being like Christ” flesh itself out?
First, we must be conscious of others’ feelings and prefer them above ourselves. We in America have been taught that we have our rights, and no one is going to trample on those. While that may be true according to our constitution, the Bible teaches us to prefer others above ourselves. When others have feelings that do not violate scripture, we are to yield to them. For instance, my mom is 86 years old and fearful of the pandemic. She does not fear death, but fears leaving my sister who needs assistance. She does not want to leave that responsibility on anyone else. Therefore, she has stayed home and does not want visitors who have not obeyed the regulations set by the authorities to stay safe. For anyone to violate her wishes would be wrong. If they did, would she get the virus? Who knows. Maybe she would and maybe she wouldn’t. The Biblical principle is to respect and abide by her wishes. When we don’t, we are no different than those who are rioting and destroying property. They destroy with violence; we destroy with words. Words and selfish actions are harder to repair than a building or a statue.
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (ESV)
Ephesians 4:2 “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,”
Second, true love is the key. We are taught to love as Christ loves. I Corinthians 13 makes it clear that love, Christ-honoring love, is what makes us different. It is this kind of love that a lost world will notice. It is this kind of love that is honoring to God. You can’t convince someone that you are a Christ-follower if you are constantly jumping on the bandwagon to prove a point. Unfortunately, social media provides many different views on how this pandemic should be handled. Information is not bad if it’s truth. However, at our present time, everyone has their idea of what is truth, and everyone who has any sort of title to their name seems to present themselves as the authority. We need to be seeking wisdom from God and spending more time praying and showing love to others. I wonder if this pandemic would be over if we spent as much time begging God for deliverance, as we do arguing our point of view.
I Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
I Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Third, we are to obey the laws of man unless they violate scripture. I have known people who wanted nothing to do with Christianity because of Christians who broke the laws of man. If we want to be a consistent witness, we must obey. This is what Paul was talking about in Romans 13:1-2, Titus 3:1, Romans 2:23 and Peter in I Peter 2:13-14. Scripture makes it very clear that we are to obey the laws of the land. The only exception is when it violates scripture, such as abortion. Luke teaches us that in Acts 5:29.
As Christians, if we proclaim we belong to Him, we have no choice but to submit to the authorities. A verse I use often keeps coming to mind. In John 14:15 our love equals our obedience.
Romans 13:1-2 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”
Titus 3:1 “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,”
Romans 2:23 “You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.”
I Peter 2:13 “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;”
I Peter 2:14 “Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.”
Act 5:29 “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”
So, the next time you put on the mask, stay your distance, or wash your hands remember that you are honoring Christ. You are being a good witness and showing you love God by your obedience. As uncomfortable as it may be, we need to stop grumbling and complaining and start praying and obeying. We can be a godly influence during these times. Let’s get busy making a difference that will last for all eternity. Be creative and reach out.
