Be Like Jesus - How to Be Like Christ

Formation and Becoming What We Behold

All right. We’re starting a new series today called Be Like Jesus. As I was studying, I heard of this idea—maybe you’ve heard it—where the longer you own a pet, the more you come to look like each other. I’ve heard it said about couples too: the longer you’re married, you start looking like each other. You shop at the same places. Sometimes Rachel will put on one of my hoodies. I don’t ever try to put on one of hers—that would be a sight to see.

I was looking into this whole idea of owners looking like their pets. It’s silly, but the pictures are funny. It’s an interesting thought: the longer you’re with something you love and care about, the more you become like it. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” A better way to say it is, what you behold, you become.

Whatever captures your attention forms you. News, media, music, friendships, books—these things shape who we are becoming. That’s what we call formation. The real question isn’t if you’re being formed, but what kind of person you’re being formed into.

The Mandate of Discipleship

In church circles, we often use another word for this: discipleship. Before Jesus left earth, He gave us one job—one mandate. In Matthew 28 He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Recently I was at a wedding and gave a friend one job: move the table up front when we needed to sign. When the time came, he missed the cue. In my head I’m thinking, “You had one job.” In some ways, when Jesus left, he gave us one job: go and make disciples—teach them to obey—baptize them in the Triune name. Don’t worry, he’s with us to the end of the age. That’s the mandate.

What Is a Disciple?

We use the word disciple often, but I didn’t grasp its full flavor until later in life. The best word in our language for disciple is apprentice. An apprentice watches, learns, spends time with a master—someone with the red seal—who teaches the way to do it. It’s more than following, more than learning, more than being a fan. It’s learning to do the very same things your teacher does.

In Jesus’ day, rabbis had disciples—apprentices. They often left families, trades, communities to follow a rabbi they admired. Disciples lived alongside their rabbi. They memorized his teaching, copied his interpretation of the Law, even imitated his mannerisms. There are accounts that if a rabbi had a limp, over time the disciples would even take on the same limp—just from watching and being with him.

There was a rabbinic blessing: “May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi”—so close that the dust off his sandals flicked up onto you.

Being a disciple in Jesus’ day meant closely following the teacher—living with him, traveling with him, eating with him; watching how he prayed, how he observed, how he treated people—and obeying.

Three Goals of a Disciple

John Mark Comer puts it this way: to be a disciple is to reorder your life around three goals—be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus would do if He were you.

First John 2:6 says, “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”

Our goal is to immerse ourselves in the person of Jesus—to get a PhD in who he is—so we can look, sound, and live like him.

Where Do We Start?

Sometimes following Jesus feels overwhelming—like trying to empty a swimming pool with a ladle. Where do I start? If we’re unintentional, we default to, “I’ll just be a good person.” But Jesus invites us closer, into his dust, for a clearer picture.

Luke 6: A Snapshot of Jesus’ Life

In Luke 6 we get a glimpse—not exhaustive, but a 30,000-foot snapshot—of living as Jesus lived. Many call it the three-dimensional life of Christ: Up, In, and Out.

Some of you remember playing Super Mario in 2D. Then in 1996 came Nintendo 64—Super Mario 64—in 3D. Minds blown. Luke 6 gives us a kind of 3D view of Jesus’ life to aim toward.

By Luke 6, Jesus has been baptized, anointed, and filled by the Spirit. He overcame temptation in chapter 4. He’s upset religious leaders by healing on the Sabbath. Then he heads to a mountain.

The Up Dimension: Relationship with God

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God.”

Jesus had a deep, vibrant relationship with his Father. Before he ministered, he prayed. He had a place and space with God. Luke often shows him slipping away to pray.

Like the oxygen mask on a plane: put yours on first, then help others. If we want to follow Jesus, it’s vital to prioritize time with God—Scripture, prayer, solitude, worship.

Mark 1:35—Jesus rose early to pray.

John 5—The Son can do nothing without the Father.

John 15—Abide in me; apart from me you can do nothing.

The Up life is dependency on God.

The In Dimension: Relationship with God’s People

“When morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve, naming them.”

Not just a nameless group—these were friends. Jesus had deep relationships, and within the twelve, three especially close ones.

What stands out is the diversity: fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot. Government worker and anti-government activist, side by side. Jesus-centered community isn’t about uniformity, but unity in diversity.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community; the person who loves those around them will create community.”

For us, In means fellowship beyond Sunday—meals, small groups, shared life. Mark 3:14 says Jesus appointed the twelve “that they might be with him.” John 13:35 says the world will know we’re his disciples by our love for one another.

The Out Dimension: Relationship with the World

Jesus then went down with his disciples. Crowds gathered from everywhere to hear, to be healed, to be delivered. Power was coming from him.

This is the Out dimension—mission. Jesus reached people, even those others avoided: sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes.

A story: Judy met a young woman evangelizing door-to-door. Judy had been praying for courage, and God sent this woman to her doorstep. They encouraged each other, and Judy invited her to church. The woman said, “When I do this, I put love for people before fear of them. Didn’t Jesus also put his love first?”

That’s what mission looks like: putting fear aside for love’s sake.

Luke 4:18—Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me… to proclaim good news to the poor, freedom to prisoners, sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed.”

C.S. Lewis said, “The church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ.”

Living a Three-Dimensional Life

We want to live the three-dimensional life: Up, In, Out. The danger is specializing in just one:

All Up: just me and God, no community or mission.

All In: church as social club, no outreach.

All Out: activism without prayer or fellowship.

Like a three-legged stool, if one leg is short, it wobbles. We need balance.

As a church, the same is true. Some churches focus only on worship (Up), or only on fellowship (In), or only on mission (Out). But discipleship calls us to all three.

Reflection Questions

Up: Do I spend time in prayer and Scripture? Do I depend on God? Do I sense his presence daily? Do I find joy in being his child?

In: Am I connected to Christian friends? Do I share openly? Do I love those different from me? Am I known by my church family?

Out: Do I pray for people far from God? Am I having faith conversations? Do I serve the poor and marginalized? Do I see my everyday spaces as mission fields?

Conclusion and Prayer

My heart is that as a church we would grow in this three-dimensional life of Christ. A year from now, may we say: I’m closer to the Lord, closer to my brothers and sisters, and I have a greater heart for the lost.

First John 2 says, “If you live in him, you must do what he did.”

***Note: This summary was done using AI. It may not be 100% complete or accurate.