Speaks like Jesus

One characteristic of our being mature in Christ is that we speak like Jesus. The words we speak are guided by the words that Jesus spoke. Not only do we talk about him, but we talk like him. We are not Christ, but rather Christ's words have been infused in us and flow out of us. How does this happen to us? It happens as we abide in his word and his word abides in us. It happens as we listen to him and do what he says.

No longer are we living for ourselves. There was a time when we were. At that time we spoke like the world. We talked about things from a worldly perspective, about topics that the world regards as important, and were especially focused talking about our interests. We didn't know Christ or care about him. But that started changing when we began to discover Jesus.

In drawing close to Christ, we started listening to him and became his disciples. Our life was transformed as we learned from him and did the things he said to do. Growing in Christ, we hungered to talk about him so that others would come to know him and follow him.

Maturing in Christ Jesus, we are now sounding more and more like him. His words are coming out of our mouth because they are deeply rooted in our heart. We know with certainty that no one else has the words of life. We have him and therefore we have life. Because we have life, we speak words of life to those with whom we talk. We talk about Jesus as often as we can because people need to hear about him. Not only that, but we speak what Jesus spoke, so that whether or not those we are talking to are intentionally learning from him, from our words and our life, they are hearing and seeing him.

Growth towards Christian maturity

Speaking Like the World

What shall we talk about? Apart from Christ, we talk about the things that interest us. It may be things from our life, either joys or pains. It may be our thoughts and opinions on a topic or an idea. We may speak of things in the news or in the lives of people we know. We may quote movies or songs. We may rattle off sports scores or stock market information. Whatever it is we speak of, the source is strictly our own self. What's more, we sound like the world around us. We may share thoughts and ideas that we agree with. Or we may argue against thoughts and ideas which we oppose. But is it still our own thoughts and ideas. We speak like the world in which we live. What we don't speak of is the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor do we speak like him. We have no knowledge of him, nor do we have interest in him. We don't know him as the Christ whom God promised to send into the world. Nor do we know him as Lord, for we don't accept that he is to be Lord of our life, but rather we ourselves are our own lord. Thus, we never even mention Jesus. He doesn't come up in our conversations. Some of us may misuse his name as a curse or what seems to us as merely a figure of speech, not giving any thought to the person of Christ. We speak about that which is in our heart and on our mind, and Christ is in neither place in our life. Because Christ is not in us, nor are we in him, we are incapable of speaking like him.

Discovering Jesus

Before we can speak like Jesus, we must meet and grow in him. The way in which we first encounter him varies from one disciple and another. But the common experience is that we begin to discover who Jesus is. We gain an awareness of him and start asking questions about him. Before we become his disciple, we must become convinced ourselves that he is worthy of learning from. So, we begin to listen to him and are amazed by what we hear from him. In what he says, he speaks like no one else we have ever heard. Eventually we commit to learning from him. Not only are we discovering who he is, but we are learning from him. What he says is impacting the way we live life. There is a gradual shift taking place by which we are living less and less for ourselves and more and more for Jesus. During this phase of our walk with Christ, we begin speaking about him. We want people around us to know about this amazing person whom we are following, Jesus Christ. We want people to experience the transformation we are experiencing and learn from him.

Jesus Becomes My Topic of Conversation

As we mature in Christ, we find that more and more we are desiring to talk about Jesus. We are learning so much about him and from him that we wonder how others are not able to see what we see. In our growth, while we may want to talk about Jesus and the things he says, we may be unsure about how bring him up in a conversation. Sometimes it seems to happen naturally for us and other times it feels like a struggle. We also notice that many of the topics we used to talk about are no longer part of our conversations. They are no longer as important to us as they once were. What is important to us is Jesus and his teaching. We long for opportunities to talk about Christ. When we do, there is a sense of excitement within us about what we are saying. There may also be some apprehension. We may not realize it, but there is a spiritual battle going on around us that wants to keep us from talking about Christ. This battle is also working to keep people from hearing what we are saying about Christ. As we grow in Christ we find ourselves frequently and confidently talking about him. His teaching continues to change our perspective and our life. His words are taking root in our heart and we are likely to be repeating some of the things he has said as we read and memorize Scripture passages. Sometimes those passages make their way into our conversations. We may or may not feel like we need to specify the chapter and verse, but either way they are in us and starting to come out through us when we speak. Without our doing so consciously, in learning what Jesus said and living it out, we are also being equipped to speak like him.

His Words Spreading through Me

A mark of our maturity in Christ is noticed in the content of our conversations. Perhaps we notice it ourselves, or maybe another disciple makes us aware that when we talk, the words coming out of our mouth sound a lot like the things Jesus said. That is because in our words we are saying the things he said. Scripture has taken root in us through our time spent in reading and studying so that as we speak the words of Jesus flow out of us as naturally as any words within us. Sometimes we are aware of the Holy Spirit prompting us with Christ's words or an idea that comes from the Scriptures, while at other times his words roll off our tongue through no conscious effort on our part. His words are a key part of who we are. They shape our character and direct our steps. They occupy our thoughts and our imagination. They set our course towards the future, light our way in the present, and give us perspective on our past. Being that it is in God in whom we move and breathe and have our being, it is fitting that His words would be formed on our lips when we speak. We still talk to people about Christ because everyone needs to know about him. But in addition to talking about him, we speak like he spoke. We talk about the things he talks about and say what he has said. Some people may easily recognize that we are speaking the words of Christ, for they too know and love him. Those who resist or ignore Christ, without realizing it, are seeing Christ in us and hearing Christ through us. We don't have to force ourselves to speak like him, it happens without any special effort on our part. His word abides in us and we abide in his word. Whatever topic we may be talking about and with whomever we may be talking, Christ's words influence our thoughts and understand and lead to our speaking the truth he speaks. The topics about which we used to talk are no longer things we bring up. We are free to talk about them if we wish, but they hold no value to us and are not going to lead people to faith in Christ so we give not thought to them. We don't quote chapter and verse since most people have little or no knowledge of the Bible. But if we needed to or were asked to, we can point people to where the truth is found. More important than the location in Scripture is the content of those chapters and verses that are readily on our lips, for they are the words of God. Christ has become the lens through which we view everything. Thus, when we speak we speak in light of what Christ has said. It is so ingrained in us and flows so automatically and naturally out of us that sometimes we are both amazed and humbled by what we hear ourselves saying. We are not amazed by the content or the power of the words, but simply by the realization that Christ has so fully transformed our life that we are saying what he said. We are humbled by the fact that God would use us to speak to others about Himself. We are mature in Christ. Not through our efforts, but because Christ is in us.