That I May be More Like Jesus

Love That Lasts: Looking More Jesus Every Day

As a teenager and into my college years I wanted to be a lawyer. I had a natural inclination for debate, logic, reason and thinking outside the box. But just any personality trait, a blessing can also be a curse. Without love, and grace and compassion, I could sometimes be mean without even knowing it. I could be all about the facts, not realizing my words also could hurt other people.

Through time I’ve come to realize it’s not just about what you say but also how you say it. And also, in a marriage, I’ve realized the mentality of needing to win is poison.

Complete poison — and it can destroy any relationship. Alyssa and I have both committed to throwing the “I need to win” attitude in the trash.

Why? Because a relationship isn’t about winning; it’s about love and growing.

So, for us, we’ve committed to compromising. And not compromising to appease the other person, but compromising to love the other person.

Because at the end of the day, one of the quickest ways to a marriage that disappoints or disillusions is to get into a marriage thinking it’s about serving yourself. That the person on the other side of the aisle is there to make your life better, easier, and more comfortable. But sadly, that’s the mentality most of us have. We wouldn’t admit it, but our actions already do.

One of the big epiphanies that happened in our marriage was when a mentor led us to realize that in the disagreements, it’s not about winning or just wishing that person would be more us. We think “if only they could just agree with me more” or “if only they thought how I thought then life would be easier.” And sure, it probably would be easier. But that’s not what marriage is for.

Marriage is meant to grow you into the image of Jesus.

In fact, you two are supposed to grow into one new image. That’s what the one flesh thing means. Two individuals becoming one new image — the image of Jesus. And so, if this is true, then that means disagreements aren’t opportunities for the other person to be more you but actually opportunities for you both to grow into the image of Jesus.

What if instead of thinking that the other person’s personality traits are weird or a bummer and you start thinking those traits might be what are making you guys a more well-rounded image? I know for Alyssa and me that’s us. That every disagreement I can now say, this is an opportunity to grow. To become more Jesus. And to serve.

Why? Because He served.

For example, I hate making the bed. I think it’s the worst thing ever and so unnecessary because it’s just going to get messed up again later that day when you go to sleep.

But guess what? Alyssa loves the bed being made every day. To her it’s a great way to start the day and make things feel fresh and orderly first thing in the morning.

So, for me, long ago I compromised. I said forget how I feel and my preferences. I want to serve my wife, and this is a way of doing that. And the beautiful thing, is that act of service then warmed Alyssa’s heart and spurred her on to serve me back in a myriad of other ways.

Service is contagious and creates a beautiful cycle. And usually it starts with compromising.

Alyssa and I were both sitting on the couch one evening. I remember her asking me nicely to go get something from the bedroom for her.

Me, being selfish and tired and grumpy that night, decided to be dumb and say, “why don’t you go get it” or something to that effect. It then quickly escalated into each other being upset, grumpy, and rude to each other.

I later apologized and felt so dumb, because it was the tiniest thing. And my reaction was not the tiniest thing. Isn’t it interesting how sin and selfishness does that?

And that was when a phrase from some of our married friends came into my head. A few weeks prior we were at dinner talking about marriage advice.

And I remember them saying one of the best pieces of advice they got was “bring up little things in a little way, and big things in a big way.” It’s simple, but sadly overlooked.

Looking back on mine and Alyssa’s relationship, so many petty arguments or breakdowns of communication have happened because our frustration about something wasn’t proportional to the actual issue at hand.

And so, Alyssa and I have made a commitment to that principle. And it’s made all the difference. And what it does too, is give us an excuse to bring up the little things in a little way before they turn out to be big things.

Instead, we have committed to saying in the little things, “hey that little comment hurt me.”

Or “Not a huge deal, but I just wanted to let you know, that I feel overlooked today.”

Or “when I asked you to do something, it means a lot when you do, especially after a long day taking care of the kids.”

However, you may say it, make it proportional. Because in reality, those “little things” actually reveal something in your heart not theirs.

Those little things are sometimes the pathway to quickly discover just how much you don’t look Jesus yet. And one thing we need to make sure we don’t do in those moments is cave to shame.

Shame is that slimy feeling that creeps up in the small mistakes and tells us we aren’t good enough, we aren’t loved, and we should go hide.

But notice how that was the very first thing the humans did in the garden when they first ate the fruit.

They hid. And what did God do?

He came looking for us. Walking in the garden. He pursued us.

Original devotion by Jeff Bethke featuring Love That Lasts, the new book by Jefferson and Alyssa Bethke, copyright Jefferson Bethke and Alyssa Bethke.

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Your Turn

In your relationships, are you serving and loving even when you don’t automatically want to do so? Are you looking more Jesus? Come and share with us on our blog! We want to hear from you about walking towards others in love! ~ Devotionals Daily

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Why Jeremy Corbyn is more Jesus than Theresa May

Theresa May was recently voted the political party leader “most Jesus” in a Premier poll. Yeah, I know. It’s been a weird year. Judging from the reactions on social media to the news (ranging from amused and confused to angry and frankly covfefe), an alternative position is needed, if only for balance. You can’t be strong and stable without balance.

This is not an exhaustive examination of the subject by any means.

Those wanting to go deeper should consult Walter Brueggemann’s epic work Jeremy Corbyn Is My Homeboy, Innit or Wayne Grudem’s No, Seriously, I Think The GOP Is Still A Christian Party –  or even St Augustine’s classic Put On A Proper Suit And Maybe Then We Can Talk About Jesus. I stand on the shoulders of giants (knees bent, legs apart, muttering “strong and stable”).

All that said, here are some reasons why I think Jeremy Corbyn in more Jesus:

1.      He’s a dude

This is not a reason to vote for him, any more than Theresa May being a woman is a reason to vote for her (no matter what people calling her a ‘feminist icon’ say). But if we’re talking similarities, gender is pretty important.

3.      He has a beard

Do you know how long it’s been since we had a PM with a beard? Neither do I, but I bet it’s long. Also: JC’s beard makes him look Obi Wan Kenobi. The PM looks the Emperor. And while this is not, in itself, conclusive evidence, it is, when a politician claims a Christian faith on the basis of their parents’ religion, worth considering.

4.      Jeremy Corbyn is omnipresent

Well, that’s not true. But, as anyone watching the debate on Wednesday will have noticed, he’s often more present than others…

5.      Corbyn can multiply things

Not loaves and fishes, sure. And yes, sometimes he forgets things (I’m arguing he’s Jesus, not that he’s infallible. He’s not John Piper.

) But multiply he does, in his fully-costed and budgeted manifesto – which has been accused of “money tree” thinking by a party whose own manifesto boasted no numbers at all, apart from the page numbers (and a ludicrously out-of-touch price for children’s food).

6.      He knows betrayal

Jeremy’s own parliamentary party has apparently been living in Gethsemane for the last year or two, abandoning and betraying him so much that it’s a wonder the man still has any flesh left on his cheeks for all the kissing.

7.      His principles mean more to him than popularity

This may be a sin for a politician, but I admire it in a human being. It’s why so many papers, owned by billionaires, are trying to crucify him. But this is a man with a genuine concern for the poor and a genuine passion for peace. For these things he’s been attacked again and again.

8.      He mixes with the wrong sort of people

I don’t just mean politicians. Or the PLP. I mean the really wrong sort of people. Not prostitutes or tax collectors (let’s face it, he is a tax-collector, just one who shares the wealth). He talks to his enemies, he doesn’t want to kill them. As a Christian, I see very little of that from politicians and I it very much.

9.      He’s quite badly dressed

Now, Isaiah 52:14 may be a bit harsh as a description of a man who is, admittedly, shabby-looking. But Isaiah 53:2 isn’t far off. Again, not saying he’s the Messiah. all of us, he is a very naughty/sinful boy. And I’m also not trying to be insulting. But if you’re looking for pretty, Jeremy is not your guy. And you’re gonna have a tough election generally.

10.    He cares about the poor

He really does. He’s dedicated his life to serving them, not the Bullingdon Club, not the money-lenders or the kings and princes of this world. I worry that he will ultimately not succeed, but at least he’s going to try to make the world and the country better.

I say we stop pretending (beyond comedy) that any politician can hope to be much Jesus and look for second-best in a human being. Because that’s all we will ever find. I say we give the badly-dressed enemy-befriender a shot.

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