Are there people in your life that you wish could be more, um, uh, well.......Godlike? You know, people that you wish loved their neighbor as themselves, daily picked up their cross, put other's needs in front of their own.
I think there are two schools of thought on these type of people. One, you punish them into becoming better. In the adult world that looks a lot like ignoring them, or talking bad about them behind their back or treating them wrongly even though you don't do it "intentionally" (you know what I mean!). The second is to just give up on them. Don't hang out with them, stay away, and avoid any communication or contact if at all possible.
Well, Jesus gives us a third way. Treat them like He treated the church. Give up your life for them. Put all of their needs in front of your own. Today I was reading about how to show your wife off to God "without a blemish" and that's basically what He said for the husband to do. (Full disclosure, the Bible didn't specifically mention other people besides your wife, but I think the theory still holds.)
God is saying, "You want your wife to be more Christlike - You be more Christlike to her. You want your coworker to be more Christlike - You be more Christlike to him. You want".....you get it!
You can keep going with one and two, and it may work out for you. But, I'm betting that the only option with people who really matter is #3.
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