From the same mold

From the same mold


"I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." John 17:6 & 18 NIV

In these verses, Jesus is praying for his disciples. And as a bonus we get a glimpse into the commission of Christ. Jesus said that he has made God known to the ones God has hand-picked. And likewise, Jesus sends his people into the world to make revelation of himself to others that were picked by God. Later in 1 Peter 4 the author refers to the followers of Jesus as Christians. Or, a direct translation of Christian is "Little Christ."

The followers of Christ garnered the title "Little Christian" because they were so much like Christ in attitude and purpose that to be around one of them may have been much like being in front of Jesus himself. Calling someone a Christian was just like saying that they were made up of the same properties as Christ.

For some reason, good deeds, cheap grace and relaxed morality have become the ear-marks of what it means to be a “Little Christ.” But I think we need to go back to the scripture and see if our definition of "Christian" matches the true person of Christ. When I take a brief look at just a few verses I see that Jesus redeems (John 3:16-18), reveals (John 17:6) and reigns (Revelation 22:13). If we are Little Christs' we take part in all three things. We are redeemed by his blood, we take part in his mission to reveal God to the world and if we hold on to God until the very end, we will reign with him (2 Timothy 2:12).

It may be a presumptuous thing to even suggest that we, in our fallen state, could be compared to Christ. But, isn't that the point? Aren't we supposed to look like Christ? Aren't we supposed to look like we came from the same mold?