What Can We Learn from the Life of Jesus?

Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk (Creative Commons)

Our lives are fleeting. Which means to say that it is very, very short. It is short compared to the age of the universe (13.8 billion years). It is short compared to the age of the earth (4.5 billion years). It miniscule compared to eternity.

Our lives are so short that we should not live it wrongly. We should instead want to live the right way if we knew how. We cannot waste such a short time that we were given.

But most often, we just don’t know if we are doing things right or not. Are we pursuing the right dream or is our job the one God intended? Are our priorities correct? Do we care about the right stuff? Do we spend our time on what  is really important?

Of course, we seek guidance and pray as much as we can. But still, the answers may not be clear cut.

One very good model that we can follow is the life of Jesus. By just seeing how he lived his life, we can steer our lives better.

Evidently, the times when he lived was different from our’s. And the setting of his community can be different from what we have now.

But the essential thing to compare is how he spent his time here on earth. And based on that, we can check how we spend our own time to know if we can improve.

How Jesus Spent His Time

1. He helped and served people - We often hear how Jesus healed the sick with a miracle and oftentimes are just in awe of the miracle itself. We fail to see that what we really can learn from all that was how Jesus cared about the poor and the needy. He spent his time helping them. He may preach to them but foremost to his mind and heart was to help them.
2. He imparted his wisdom - Whenever possible, Jesus imparted wisdom. He preached to crowds and to his disciples. He was a teacher who walked the talk. We may not be as wise as He was but there’s nothing that hinders us from sharing what we believe to other people especially on matters of faith.
3. He prayed for people - He cared for people so much that he asked that they be forgiven for their sins. He was tolerant and did not judge others harshly.
4. He made the ultimate sacrifice - He was killed for standing by his beliefs and principles. He paid the fatal price which he was willing to give to save mankind from eternal damnation.

What Jesus Did Not Do

1. He did not focus on making money - Many of our decisions today about living our lives amounts to an economic consideration. That is to say that we care about money a lot. Jesus did not care much about wealth. As a matter of fact, he advocated that we leave it and follow Him instead. He even cautioned that the wealthy will have a difficult time getting into heaven.
2. He did not want to be served - Jesus was not selfish. He did not think of himself too much. He thought of ways to help others and did not expect people to serve him. This is a lesson on leadership. To be a leader is NOT to lift yourself up but to lift those around you because that will collectively bring the whole to a higher level.

For the church, Jesus was a prime example of where the focus ought to be. Loving God by loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. This is manifested by how we spend each moment of our lives because our time is precious and limited.