Being Christ-like

From Frost and Hirsch's The Shaping of Things To Come, p. 107:

Theologian Harvey Cox once told of speaking at a conference for Christian healers and therapists. The audience was full of pastors, doctors, nurses, counselors, and psychologists, all committed to bringing healing as an intrinsic part of their Christian faith. Cox says he retold the audience the story of Jesus raising Jairus's daughter from the dead and how along the way he healed the hemorrhaging woman. This story occurs in Luke 8:40-56 and is a wonderful episode that shows Jesus' compassion for both the religious leaders, Jairus, and the scorned woman. Having recounted the story, Cox then asked his listeners to identify which character in the story they related most strongly to. Was it the bleeding woman, abandoned, suffering, and defeated? Or Jairus, anxious and grief-stricken? Or even perhaps the disciples who observed these fantastic miracles in wonderment and awe? Sections of the audience identified with different characters. Then Cox asked them how many identified with Christ. Six out of six hundred raised their hands.

When confronted with a story about Jesus the healer, only one percent of an audience full of healers related to Christ himself. How many teachers relate to Jesus the teacher? How many of us identify with Jesus as a person we aspire to become like? Of course, he is divine as well as human, and therefore we can never hope to fully emulate him. But we are called to live Christlike lives. We need to recapture our focus on Jesus and live like him, adore him, befriend him again.

On a related note, I saw this in a comment on one of Scot McKnight's posts. You can read the post here, but I liked what one commenter (#4 - Jim) said:

Michael, here’s another viewpoint that author Bill Johnson helped me to see. Jesus said of Himself, “The Son can do nothing by Himself” (John 5:19). The Greek word here for “Nothing” has a unique meeting—IT MEANS NOTHING. He had no supernatuaral capabilities whatsoever!
While He is 100% God, He chose to live with the same limitations that man would face once He was redeemed. He made that point over and over again. Jesus became the model for all who would embrace the invitation to invade the impossible in His name.

Acts 2:22, “Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst…”

He performed miracles, wonders, and signs, as a man in right relationship to God…not as God. If He performed miracles because He was God, then they would be unattainable for us. But if He did them as a man, I am responsible to pursue His lifestyle. Recapturing this simple truth changes everything…and makes possible a full restoration of the ministry of Jesus in His Church (John 14:12-14).

So, the stories of Jesus in the Bible are not the record of what God can do, but the record of what a person can do rightly related to God.

Hmm. Innaresting stuff.