What God Really Wants Us To Know -- Part 8: "Christ-Like"? Does Jesus Really Expect Us to Love Others As He Loves Us?

Christ like?? Me?
Is there any way possible to follow Jesus' command to love in the same way that Jesus loves us unless we become at least to some degree like Jesus? If finding the kingdom of God means manifesting the “fruit of the Spirit”: unconditional love, peace, joy and all the rest, then it follows that Jesus expects us to follow him and become like him to the greatest degree possible. Yes, at first this thought may seem blasphemous to consider but doesn't it make sense that followers of Christ should become more like Christ and less like mortal human beings? We may wonder, did Jesus really expect his followers to become like him? 

Let's see what Jesus said about it:

• I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12
• You are the light of the world Matthew 5:14
• Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Mark 8:34
• My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: John 10:27
• If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am , there shall also my servant be : if any man serve me, him will my Father honor . John 12:26
• Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12

'I am the light of the world and you are the light of the world'. Could Jesus have made it any clearer that we are to follow him and strive to be like him? Let us remember this is not a mortal man speaking these words; this is the Almighty Creator God speaking through Jesus. These are not idle words but instead this is a clear and important message – that mankind is to follow Jesus. It follows that if Jesus came to preach the kingdom of God and show us the way to abundant life that we must put Jesus' teachings into practice and follow his example, and in so doing BE the "light of the world" just as Jesus was.

Clearly there is a relationship between the kingdom of God and "abundant life", the experience of the state of being Jesus called "blessed". There is a relationship between the kingdom of God and experiencing and manifesting the "fruit of the Spirit" including unconditional love, and there is a connection between the kingdom of God and becoming genuinely "Christ-like". Now we can see that when Jesus was teaching any of these things, he was truly teaching about the kingdom of God. If we trust Jesus' teachings as truth, we can see that the kingdom of God is therefore far more than a place we go to after death.