Jesus has done more for us than we probably even realize.    Sacrificing heaven and taking on the form of a servant was just the beginning.  Ultimately, Jesus was willing to die on the cross for our sins (Philippians 2:8).  The question is what are we willing to do for Jesus?

One thing we should be willing to do for our Lord is represent Him well in our daily lives.  To represent Christ is to behave the way He would in the various circumstances of life.  When we do that, others will see Christ living in us.  What do you do when you feel like you are being mistreated by someone else?  It might be a co-worker or a schoolmate.  It might be someone saying unfair things about you, or just treating you harshly, but how do you respond?  Paul tells us how we can represent Christ in those situations.

Romans 12:19-21 (ESV)
¹⁹  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰  To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

For most people, this is not the natural way to respond to mistreatment, but it is the way Christ responded when He was mistreated.

1 Peter 2:23 (ESV)
²³  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

Isaiah prophesied about this, saying that when He was afflicted, He “opened not His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7).  Do we represent Christ when we are afflicted?

Another good way we can follow in our Lord’s steps is by properly responding to sin.  Jesus never ignored sin.  When He saw the money changers in the temple, He overthrew their tables (John 2:13-17).  To represent Christ, we must be willing to oppose sin.

We must also represent Christ by treating others the way He did.  Jesus put others before Himself.  By taking on a human body and sacrificing the glory of heaven, He made Himself nothing for the benefit of man (Philippians 2:6-8).  If others are to see Jesus in us,  we must avoid being selfish by always putting ourselves before others.  Instead, we must have the mind of Christ and esteem others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:1-5).

Jesus was a kind, compassionate man who was willing to forgive those who sinned against Him (Luke 23:34).  We cannot represent Jesus if we hold grudges because that is something that He never did.

Let us do our best to give others an accurate picture of Jesus.  In the 1990s the acronym WWJD, standing for What Would Jesus Do, became very popular.  The sentiment is a good one.  When we do what Jesus would do in the various circumstances of life, we are representing Him well to others.  After all that He has done for us, it is the least we can do for Him.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.