God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.
Kurt’s away this week too, so I’m stepping in once again. He should be back to writing next week, so we’ll pick up with chapters out of his new book then. And again, if any of you have thoughts about an official title, I know he’s open to suggestions, so please feel free to send us any ideas you have. If you want to get a feel for what the book is about, we’ve already posted the introduction and first chapter, and I wrote a reflection of my own on the overall theme of the book last week, which you can find here.
So last time, I talked about copying those around us; it’s not bad to imitate others who are imitating Christ, but you don’t want to lose yourself in the process and become a photocopy. That’s something that I need to work on as much as any of us, and probably even more so.
But I also know that some of you reading this may have just started walking with Jesus. You might not have people around you yet who are actively trying to be more like Christ. So how do you surround yourself with people who are doing that? Kurt will, I’m sure, have something much more helpful in the book, but here’s what I would say about it.
I’ve been there. At least sort of. I was raised nominally Lutheran, and I made plenty of friends in Sunday school and also became friends with the pastor and his wife and several other adults in our church. At the time, though, I was more focused on imitating my older brother, who by high school had left faith behind him. My parents did their best, but faith was really only something we saw on Sundays. We didn’t pray at home much, we didn’t really read the Bible, and we didn’t really talk much about where we saw God at work in our lives with each other. Church was just something we did. I enjoyed it, but by the time I got to high school with my brother, I wasn’t surrounded by many others who were actively pursuing Jesus, and nor was I trying to myself. I was calling myself an atheist for about three years leading up to my freshman year, and nobody really seemed all that committed to convincing me otherwise. I had a feeling something was wrong about it, though, but it wouldn’t be cool to question it and risk being made fun of, so I didn’t.
God didn’t let me off the hook that easily, though. He gave me a friend during my freshman year of high school whose dad was a pastor of a different church, and he invited me to his youth group. I mostly went because some of the girls who were a part of the youth group also invited me, and as a teenage boy, how could I possibly say no?
I stayed, though, because I met Jesus. I started spending more time with my youth group friends, and I even started going to other youth groups in the area in addition to that first one.
Now, that’s not the same thing as being completely on your own for years. I was still a child, barely dipping my toe into life without Jesus before I came running back to Him. What about those who never had that kind of experience, the ones who have been in one way or another apart from Jesus for so long that they don’t know of a single person around them seeking to be like Him?
First of all, you’re never alone. The great thing about God (as if there were only one thing) is that He’s omnipotent. He not only created you, but sustains your existence. If God ever stopped caring about you, not only would you cease to exist now, but you would cease to exist throughout all of time. He didn’t create you because He needs anything from you; He created you because He wants you to be. He is as close to you as close can get. It’s a hard thing to wrap your head around, since as human beings we only have so much we can do, so much attention we can give to any one thing, and so it’s hard for us to fathom how God could do what we say He can do. But He has an unlimited supply of attention; He can focus His complete and total attention on each individual existing thing in the universe and hold it in existence because He is infinite.
But that doesn’t really solve the practical problem of not having other human beings like yourself around you. It’s true and reassuring that Jesus is both fully God and fully man, and He is like us in all things but sin, so there is truly always another person around you. But most of us aren’t called to be hermits, living on our own with nobody but Jesus around (which is a good and legitimate calling, but it’s exceedingly rare). So here are some practical things to do to start surrounding yourself with other imitators of Christ:
Go to church. Just go. Participate in the liturgy in some way, even if you have no clue what’s going on. Spend time talking to people afterward, and in particular if you’re visiting a church where the pastor greets people afterward, go and talk with him.
Additionally, learn about other people who have gone before us imitating Christ. The church has been around for nearly 2000 years. In that time, billions of people have set out to follow Christ. And the best part is that they’re still alive. If we’re to believe the promises of Christ, if we’re to believe in the eternal life He promises us in heaven, then it seems reasonable to me that those people who also accepted Him are not dead, but alive in heaven. This particular detail came up as I was reflecting on a passage from Matthew 17, during the Transfiguration:
“And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.” Matthew 17:3
Now, we know Elijah didn’t die. In fact, he’s one of the few figures of salvation history who we know did not experience bodily death, but was instead assumed into heaven in a chariot of fire. We know, though, that Moses did experience death. He died overlooking the Promised Land, unable to enter it himself as a punishment for disobeying God at Meribah. And yet, here he is, appearing with Elijah to talk to Jesus, very much alive.
In Hebrews, the author also reminds us that there are many others in the same boat, many who have gone before and are still alive with God now:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us.” Hebrews 12:1
Learn about their lives. Look to them as examples. Pray that God gives you the grace to be like them. And even though we can’t see them now, what we do know is that they are with God. And if God is with us, then they are too.
-Wes
The Love Like Jesus Book
Looking for something meaningful to listen to during the quieter winter moments? This audiobook offers practical wisdom, real stories, and gentle guidance you can take with you—whether you’re driving, folding laundry, or sneaking in a walk between the snowflakes.
Let it speak to your heart this season.
We recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. And it’s available on the following platforms:
It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.
