If I Could Be Like Christ...

Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s was a lot of fun! I got to see first-hand the shifting of music from the glam-rock and heavy metal of the 80’s into the grunge music of the 90’s. I got see the invention of the world wide web. I actually remember when Chicken McNuggets were first invented. Batman made his cinematic debut, and the home computer started to become the norm. Of all the trends that I experienced in the 80’s and 90’s, there was one trend that, for me, surpassed them all. It was a simple commercial with a simple song that said, “Like Mike. If I could be like Mike.”

That Mike was Michael Jordan. In a very short span, Jordan went from Rookie of the Year to the best player in the NBA to the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time.)  He moved across a basketball court with a grace never seen before. His tenacity led to three straight championships twice! He was the greatest show in town, and every young man who walked onto a basketball court wanted to be him. His greatness was the stuff of legend, and a simple two-sentence phrase encapsulated what everyone was already thinking. “I want to be like Mike.” I remember playing basketball behind our house, trying to pull off acrobatic Michael Jordan shots, thinking I must’ve looked like an All-Star NBA player. More likely than that, I probably looked like a spastic kid who lost control of his motor functions.

I think we’re all like that. We see greatness, and we want to emulate the one who embodies that greatness. If you wanted to be great in basketball, you copied Jordan. If you wanted to be a great baseball player, you tried to swing like Mark McGuire. If you wanted to make amazing, netherworldly catches with a football, you pretended to be Jerry Rice. As kids, that’s just what we did.
 
As adults, we do the same. However, we don’t necessarily look at athletes. Instead, we look at successful businessmen, powerful world leaders, and other people of influence who carry qualities that we want to live out. Want to be more financially responsible? Emulate Dave Ramsey. Want to be more successful in business, study Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Do you want to be a better Christian leader? Be like Craig Groeschel. No matter who we are, we are usually trying to do things like somebody else.

There’s a really interesting story where the opposite of this happened, and it did NOT go well.
 
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.”
Matthew 18:23–27

The ultimate form of mercy is undeserved mercy. Here, a king is owed money from his servants. Instead of collecting what is owed him, he had mercy on his servant and forgave his debt. You would think that this servant would be elated and follow in his master’s footsteps and be just as forgiving to those who may owe him. As we continue to read, we find out that is NOT the case.

“But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.”
Matthew 18:28–30

After having his debt forgiven, this servant took it upon himself to exact his wrath on another servant. How could anyone act this way after being treated in a completely different way? It’s obvious that this servant was too arrogant to learn from his king, and this other servant was now the brunt of his anger. Not only did he not forgive the debt, he had him imprisoned. What would the king think of this?

“When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Matthew 18:31–35

The king was terribly displeased with what the servant had done. He was so angered by his lack of compassion and mercy that he had him delivered to the jailers. Jesus ends this passage by stating that we all need to forgive just as we have been forgiven. Think about that for a second. God is willing to forgive us of every sin we’ve ever committed. He’s so willing that He gave Jesus to die on a cross for our sake. His mercy was greater than our sin, and He makes it available to us. We, in turn, need to remember to extend that mercy to those around us…even when we don’t want to.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31–32

If I want to be like Mike, I need to practice my basketball skills. If I want to be like Dave Ramsey, I need to get a better grip on my finances. If I want to be like Christ, I need to be better at forgiveness and mercy. There’s really only one person who we need to emulate. “Like Christ….If I could be like Christ.” That’s got a nice ring to it.