It Is Enough To Be Like Jesus

“It is enough for disciples to be like their teacher…” Matthew 10:25a CEV

It was Christmas night many years ago when I along with my wife and school age children were making our way to Tennessee to be with our families. Because of the distance and the time of our departure, we had made reservations at a motel off the Interstate in the western part of North Carolina. Unfortunately, we didn’t think about what we were going to eat. Most every place that we would have normally chosen was closed. In fact, everything was closed except a Waffle House and a restaurant attached to a motel not far from where we were staying.

Waffle House would have been acceptable. But it was Christmas night, and the thought of scattered, covered and smothered just didn’t seem to fit the occasion. So we chose the other option. After all, it was a real sit down restaurant which we thought would be a perfect ending to the day. We were wrong.

When we walked inside, we were quickly greeted and escorted to our table. So far so good. What didn’t know at the time was the fact that our host would also serve as our waiter, our cook and our cashier. As the evening progressed, we learned that everyone else had either called in sick (I bet) or couldn’t get out because of the weather (I’ll double the wager). So this guy was it.

Ok. We can handle that. So we began to order our meal. Or at least we tried to order our meal. You see, each time we made a request, our host-waiter-cook-cashier told us that they were out of that item, because the food truck never made their delivery that day. Eventually, we got the message and asked him to order for us based on what they did have.

When the food arrived, if you want to call it that, we all found ourselves thinking that the Waffle House was actually a five-star restaurant. Based on what our newest best friend had just put in front of us, it was clear that he had probably spent a lot more time as a waiter than as a cook. It was a scene that only the Grinch could have enjoyed. This was our Christmas dinner. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

It seems to me that we Christ followers often have the same struggle when it comes to our expectations for what being a disciple is like. For any number of reasons we get in our minds that if we’re following Jesus the right way, life will be almost perfect. Oh, there might be a problem here or there. But not to worry. We’ll zip off a quick prayer to heaven and that will take care of that. And then we can get back to our spiritual stroll through the park as we leisurely make our way toward heaven.

But it’s not like that even for the most dedicated of Christ followers. And when our false expectations meet real life, it can create a crisis of faith.

I think that’s why Jesus felt the need to prepare his disciples for what was coming. They had already witnessed many miracles as Jesus conducted His earthly ministry. So it would have been easy for them to assume that it would always be this way. Jesus would do great things, and everyone would love it. But He knew that wasn’t the case. The truth was that it would only be a matter of time before the shouts of praise would shift to words of ridicule or worse. When that happened, the disciples’ false expectations would crumble around their feet.

So Jesus reminded them that “it is enough for disciples to be like their teacher.” That was the goal anyway – to become like Him. So it did not matter if following Him brought great success or great struggle. Becoming like Him was enough.

It’s no different for us. We are not given an exemption from real life just because we happen to be following Jesus. In fact, faithfulness in following Him can bring an even greater level of challenge to our lives. When that happens, it must be enough for us to be like Him. Expectations beyond that will leave us disappointed and disillusioned.