By Bill Kierce
Thirty years ago, when Michael Jordan ruled as king of the basketball world, the NIKE company introduced its most popular ad with MJ as its spokesperson. The scene begins with some little boys playing ball on a streetside court as their hero watches. A catchy tune plays in the background, and the camera focuses on this little guy attempting some of Michael’s trademark moves. The song goes: “Sometimes I dream that he is me, I dream that that’s the way it’s got to be; Sometimes I groove, sometimes I move, like Mike. I want to be like Mike.”
Very often in Christianity culture, we treat Jesus like a Michael Jordan character. He is our hero, the one we want to emulate. In the popular vernacular of the contemporary church, we seek to be Jesus followers. In an attempt to minimize negative connotations of lordship language, many pastors now offer congregants the invitation to accept Jesus as the leader of their lives. Hey kids, let’s all gather on the court and do our best to imitate Jesus while he oversees our effort with a self-satisfied smile. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say.
Is this what the Apostle Paul intended when he wrote these words to the Corinthian believers: “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1 NIV)? On the surface, it might appear so. Statistically, most American Christians believe that the essence of discipleship is giving Jesus our best effort, which the Holy Spirit then empowers. This is the equation: A lot of us plus a lot of God equals success in the Christian life. Effort is good. After all, God isn’t well-represented by a lazy fanbase. However, the best of our efforts is as futile as a 10-year-old trying to be Michael Jordan.
Imitation of Jesus alone results in futility and frustration for believers. Throughout his epistles, Paul speaks the language of transformation. In Romans 12:1–2, the apostle says, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Whereas imitation requires effort, which can become a source of pride, transformation requires surrender of the self altogether. It requires death. Resurrection transformed Jesus’ physical being as a result of his submission to the cross (Phil 2:8–11). There is no resurrection power available to the believer who is trying hard. On a cross, victims struggled to survive but ultimately died. The struggle of trying to be like Jesus in our flesh must give way to death. The cross is our only source of transforming life. This was the Apostle Paul’s mantra: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14 NIV).