Mistaken Identity?

  Every now and then you come across a person that his or her followers would like to be like themselves.  That is, they want to imitate their leader.  We had one professor at college that most of the students respected a great deal.  They would like to be as he was.  When they would speak in class or in chapel, they would sound like this professor.  They would mimic his actions and probably even comb their hair the same way he combed his hair.  Twice in my life, I have been mistaken for another preacher.  He is Baptist and he is a lot more famous than I am.  Twice, someone has noticed a resemblance.  He would never be mistaken for me as I am unknown.  When we think about it, there are people in the world that we would like to resemble because of their standards and what they have done.  Whose life would you like to imitate?   Luke 22:50-51 says, "And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.   And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him."   
     We could list thousands of scriptures to show the character of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I chose just this one because of when it occurred.  Would you prefer to be like the Lord Jesus Christ?  We naturally think, "Sure.  I want to be like Him."   Jesus was in the process of being captured, betrayed by a kiss, facing a group of soldier and He knew where He was headed.  Peter grabs his sword and cuts off the ear of Malchus.  Jesus responds by healing the ear right in front of everyone which they all seem to reject and not care about it.  They have rejected the very power of God.  So, when you are unjustly accused, imprisoned, ridiculed, physically tortured and mocked beyond measure, how will you respond.  Will your actions even remotely resemble those of the Lord Jesus Christ?  We would all like to think that they would resemble His, but only time will tell.  Will people be able to tell that you are a Christian by your actions?  Will you end up looking just like a member of the general population and not a Christian at all?   It makes a difference on how you live your everyday life and the only way you are going to get the training for that is in God's Word.  It is said that Treasury Agents study the real money, not the counterfeit money and so they are able to recognize when that which is false appears in front of them.  Will people conclude that you are a Christian by how you respond?  Even in the final days before the crucifixion, Jesus still had compassion and was willing to heal those around Him who had needs.  Praise God today that He has given to us the supreme example by dying for the unlovely.