Our ultimate goal in our Christian life is to be like Christ, yet in all humility and honesty that is not an easy thing to do. In fact, some might even say it's impossible!
One of the areas of Christ's life that we find so hard to imitate is His love for God and men. No matter how kind or loving a Christian may be, it's just so hard to be totally committed and given over to the Father's plan and will for us. And no matter how forgiving we are, we just can't deny the fact that it's very hard to forgive the way Christ does.
So why is Christ's love so hard to imitate? Let me offer some possible reasons, although these are not exhaustive.
1. Christ totally submitted to the Father's will
The Lord Jesus Christ had no room for His personal desires to come in conflict with the Father's will. He said, according to John 6:38, "For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will."
Can we say the same thing?
Most likely not. As humans who have been corrupted by sin, and now being sanctified by the Holy Spirit starting from the time that we were saved, we still need to unlearn all of our sinful, fleshly and selfish ways so that we could "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (see Romans 13:14). It will take Holy Spirit power, some time to learn, and a lot of effort for us to do that.
2. Christ humbled Himself
Paul perfectly explains this in Philippians 2:5-8, saying: "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross."
Are we that humble enough to let go of our privileges? If Christ did not consider His identity as God as something to boast about, then who are we Christians to brag about being children of God? It's God we should brag about, not ourselves.
3. Christ was one with the Father in heart and mind
Jesus said in John 10:30, "The Father and I are one." He meant that He was the Father's exact representation. The Father's will was His will. The Father's heart for people was His heart for the people. This is because He "came to do the will of God who sent" Him, "not to do [His] own will" (see John 6:38).
Unless God's heart becomes ours, we will never be able to love the way He did. This is so hard. But with the Holy Spirit's help, we will reach that. Someday.
