Kurt Bennett's Blog

God Running is a place for anyone who wants to (or even anyone who wants to want to) love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

Below you’ll find another chapter from the book Wes Beyer and I are writing called The Jesus Shortcut: How to Become More Like Jesus (in the shortest possible time). Previously we posted the introduction and preceding chapters. If you’re interested, you can read more here: Loneliness and Isolation, Alypius and the Gladiator (and one of the most powerful forces on earth), Khesed, The Light of Christ: Where the Power of Christ is Found, and Gratitude: Another Attribute of the Friends We Choose. For the next few weeks, I’ll post a chapter of this book on the God Running blog until the book is completed. Wes and I are wide open to your suggestions, and especially any stories you may have about people who were influenced for Jesus by their friends.

The Friends We Choose

If you’re a regular reader of the God Running blog, by now you realize one of the biggest keys to abiding in Christ, and experiencing God’s transcendent love and power, is to intentionally connect yourself to a group of Jesus followers who have these three attributes: 1) They khesed like Jesus. 2) Their faces shine with the love of Christ. 3) They’re filled with gratitude.

In chapter 4, we’ll look at a fourth attribute of this group, and that attribute is challenge or accountability.

A Culture of Accountability

Jesus wants us to connect with this group of people who follow Christ closely on a regular and ongoing basis. And here’s one thing about the people in the group you’re looking for: Every person in that group wants to hear about it any time they do anything that’s inconsistent with the character of Jesus. That’s what they want. That’s what they desire. It’s true that nobody enjoys being called out or told their wrong. But the people in the group you’re looking for know that they’re imperfect and will welcome correction, even if it stings.

Of course the person over which you have the most control is yourself, and the person over which I have the most control is myself. So it starts with you and it starts with me. It starts with me receiving criticism in the best way possible.

So we need to openly express our desire to hear about it anytime we do anything inconsistent with the character of Christ.

I find it interesting and instructive how Jesus responded to Nathanael’s critical, cynical attitude toward Him in John chapter one.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

(John 1:45-50)

How Jesus Responded to Criticism

Critical and cynical. That was Nathanael’s attitude toward the news that Philip had “found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about.”

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael responded.

At the time, Nazareth didn’t have the best reputation as a city. It may be Nathanael’s cynicism and criticism were understandable. However, to Nathanael’s credit, though he has some tough questions, he decides to accept Philip’s invitation to “come and see” for himself.

And here’s how Jesus responds to Nathanael’s negativity.

“Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit,” Jesus says enthusiastically as He sees Nathanael approaching.

“Behold, an Israelite . . .” The very first words out of Jesus’ mouth are words affirming Nathanael as an Israelite, as one of God’s chosen people.

“. . . in whom there is no deceit!” (or guile as the King James Version renders it). This was a play on words by Jesus. He was referring back to Jacob. Jacob, who was renamed Israel by the Lord, was a man known for his guile and deceit. You probably remember Jacob tricking his blind father Isaac out of his older brother’s blessing—one of a number of instances where Jacob used deceit and guile to get his way. So here we see Jesus, rather than defending Himself against Nathanael’s cynicism, using this play on words to emphasize Nathanael’s genuineness and honesty.

Nathanael, recognizing Jesus knew how he felt about a prophet coming from Nazareth, says, “How do you know me?”

“Before Philip called you, I saw you under that fig tree,” Jesus replies.

At which point Nathanael answers, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.”

And Jesus answers back, “Because I saw you under that fig tree you believe? You’ll see greater things than these.” Jesus finishes the conversation by commending Nathanael for his faith.

Receiving Criticism in the Moment: 7 Predetermined Steps

Maybe you’re like me and when you’re criticized, you can feel flooded with emotion. Sometimes I want to jump straight to defending myself. Sometimes I can feel my heart rate and blood pressure increasing. Sometimes I become angry.

When we’re flooded, we’re unlikely to respond in a Christ-like manner.

So a predetermined response that’s already loaded in your communication queue can make an enormous difference.

Below you’ll find seven simple predetermined steps for dealing with criticism in the moment. Putting this list into practice is very much a work in progress for me. But I recommend you memorize them and practice them at every opportunity until this response is automatic.

1. Breathe and meditate on Jesus’ response to Nathanael’s cynicism: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” (John 1:47) Think of something positive to say about the critic and share it out loud.

2. Remind yourself you want to be wise AND GENTLE like Jesus. God tells us in Hebrews that without holiness, no one will see Jesus (Hebrews 12:14). It’s hard for others to hear us when we’re harsh. One of the reasons Jesus was so spectacular with his communication was because Jesus was gentle. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,” Jesus said, “for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

3. Remind yourself this is a time to prioritize relationship and not a time to right fight.

4. Remind yourself that in the Bible we see Jesus ask over 300 questions, but he gave at most only 10 direct answers. Be like Jesus. Become genuinely curious. Ask questions. See what you can learn. Paraphrase back to the person who’s criticizing to confirm your understanding. (Sermons by Logos)

5. Tell yourself: Jesus was rarely concerned with being understood in the moment. Wise, Christ-like people don’t concern themselves with being understood in the moment.

6. Tell yourself: Jesus recognized the best way to be understood is over a long period of time. Wise, Christ-like people let understanding come over a long time.

7. Finally, give thanks to God for the conversation.

When It’s Especially Tough: 5 Steps to Taking Criticism Well

In chapter 3 of the Love Like Jesus book, I write about how Jesus, and a certain NFL quarterback, and a certain pastor, and a certain fire chief responded to critics.

I also write about five steps you and I can take to respond to criticism well, and here they are:

1. Don’t respond for twenty-four hours.

If you’re like me, when you receive criticism, you can become flooded with emotion. You feel anger, or you feel deflated, or you feel crushed, or a combination of any number of emotions. I’ve learned over the years that nothing good happens while I’m upset. If I try to address criticism while I’m upset, I make it worse instead of better, even when I think I’m saying or doing the best thing in the moment. Most of us are the same. So just thank them for sharing or say nothing, or even walk away if you have to. And then wait a day. Let yourself sleep on it. Give yourself time to go to God and ask Him about it. The people I see who respond like Jesus to criticism respond with grace and integrity. Waiting for twenty-four hours gives you the best possible chance to do the same. What a difference a day will make in your perspective, and in your quest to love like Jesus. 

2. Ask yourself: Is there any truth at all in what they said?

 Jesus is the one person in the history of the planet who never had to ask Himself this question. But for the rest of us, it will be rare for us to examine what was said and come to the conclusion there was no truth in it. And if you do come to that conclusion, ask a friend who knows you well, someone you trust, if they see any truth in what was said. They might see what the critic saw, even if you don’t. And even if you find some small truth in there somewhere, use it to grow into a more virtuous human being. In fact, I would say try your best to find some truth in the criticism. Use it to grow into a person who’s more like Jesus. Finally, even if there’s no truth whatsoever in what was said, at least you asked yourself and a friend the question. You lose nothing by asking.

 3. Own what you can.

Find whatever part of the criticism you can own, even if it’s small. Try to understand how that person came to feel the way he or she does. Try to understand the why behind their feelings, even if they overreacted. I’ve noticed that people who are successfully loving like Jesus take responsibility. People who struggle to love like Jesus tend to blame, become defensive, and justify themselves. You and I don’t want to be that person.

4. Raise the relational bar.

Raise the level of communication from how they communicated with you. If they emailed you, call them. If they called you, take them out for coffee. Tell them you’d like to learn more about what they said and how they’re feeling. If they criticized you in person, take them out to lunch. I’ve experienced this both as a critic, and as the one being criticized, and it’s amazing how disarming it can be. If the person who criticized is healthy, and if you own whatever you can, most of the time the situation will be diffused and you’ll experience a spirit of reconciliation—if you raise the relational bar in this way.

5. Discard the rubbish.

Even if you found some truth you could own, and you responded with grace and love, the way Jesus would have, sometimes there’s still rubbish to be dealt with. And the way to deal with it is to discard it. Sometimes criticism is less about you and more about what’s going on with the critic. Maybe they just had a fight with their spouse. Or maybe they just got dumped on at work. Or maybe they’re depleted physically or emotionally.

Sometimes good people overreact, or react inappropriately. And sometimes critics aren’t just mad at you, they’re mad at the world. Either way, it may be there’s some content in their criticism that’s not based in reality. It’s based in something else: something having to do with the critic more than the one criticized. Share it with God. Talk to a trusted friend about it. Acknowledge that it hurts anyway. And then let it go. Don’t carry a load from yesterday into today.1 (The five steps were inspired by Carey Nieuwhof’s article, 5 Ways to Make Criticism Sting Less, CareyNieuwhof.com)

What Jesus Could Have Said But Didn’t

Jesus could have responded to Nathanael with a whopping comeback. “You obviously don’t know Who (with a capital W) you’re talking to, or what you’re talking about. I wasn’t even born in Nazareth, I was born in Bethlehem, the precise place where God promised the Messiah would come from. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you share your cynicism. I was going to include you in a group of eleven people who will turn the world upside down and influence the entire planet for eternity, but with that attitude—you’re out!”

But that’s not what Jesus did. Instead, He met Nathanael’s negativity and cynicism with grace and love. Jesus, rather than defending Himself, responds to Nathanael’s attitude by affirming Nathanael’s position as one of God’s chosen, by emphasizing his honesty, and by commending him for his faith. Jesus took Nathanael’s negative and turned it around to a positive, and he communicated with Nathanael in person. It’s so easy to respond to someone who’s critical toward you with defensiveness, or by returning the negative with a negative shot right back.

But the people I observe who love critics the way Jesus did, they look for whatever positive they can find, they always find something, and they start there, and they often raise the relational bar too. The people I know who add value to critics the way Jesus did have more opportunity to impact their life for Christ. The people I know who take value away from critics, even when they’re well-meaning, tend to cause others to withdraw from them and to disregard what they have to say. So next time you’re faced with a critic or a cynic, start by finding and emphasizing the positive. Raise the relational bar.

Jesus did.

You can too.2

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

(Hebrews 12:14)

In our next post, we’ll look at the most effective way to hold others accountable.

Notes:Kurt Bennett, Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus) , 2nd Edition, Enoch Media, January 30, 2020Carey Nieuwhof, “5 Ways to Make Criticism Sting Less”, CareyNieuwhof.comJim Wilder, Michel Hendricks, The Other Half of Church , Moody Publishers, August 4, 2020The Love Like Jesus Book

Available on Google Play Books and on Amazon!

Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)

Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others. Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:

Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.

With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.

A life of loving like Jesus. (Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon and Google Play Books.)

We also recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. It’s available on the following platforms:

AudibleiTunes/Apple BooksAudiobooks.comSpotify

It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.

You can listen right now!

God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

What follows is another chapter of a book I’m writing called The Jesus Shortcut: How to Become More Like Jesus (in the shortest possible time). (That’s a working title by-the-way. If you have an idea for a better title, I hope you’ll share it with me.) In the weeks before Easter, we posted the introduction and previous chapters. If you’re interested, you can read more here: Loneliness and Isolation, Alypius and the Gladiator (and one of the most powerful forces on earth), Khesed, and The Light of Christ: Where the Power of Christ is Found. For the next few weeks, I’ll post a chapter of this book on the God Running blog until the book is completed. Thank you in advance to my brother in Christ, collaborator-editor Wes Beyer, for your help with this book.

The Power of Gratitude

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Giving thanks, in all circumstances, is what God wants from us. And as is always the case, God wants us to do what He wants us to do because it results in what’s best for us and for the people around us.

Of course, there are other Bible verses admonishing or encouraging us to give thanks.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 107:1).

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

The list goes on.

As is so often the case, what God prescribed thousands of years ago is being confirmed by science. There have been numerous studies done on gratitude and the consensus is: Practicing gratitude is good for you—really good for you. Below you’ll find three resources to explore the evidence further.

Christina Caron, Gratitude Really Is Good for You. Here’s What the Science Shows. New York Times, Published June 8, 2023, Updated November 20, 2023Giving thanks can make you happier, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, August 14, 2021How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain, Greater Good Magazine, Berkeley.edu, June 6, 2017

Practicing gratitude daily improves relationships, lowers levels of depression, improves sleep, and can even lower blood pressure. As Dr. Emmons states in the New York Times article: There are “objective biologically verifiable outcomes that go beyond self-report measures.”1

Decades of research support these findings.

My Gratitude Journal

Several years ago, I started a gratitude journal. I leave that document up on my screen in my office and I have it easily accessible on my phone. I’m making it as easy as I possibly can for me to add to that document. I would encourage you to do the same. It’s very helpful.

But now I’m going deeper into gratitude. Now, if there’s someone I want to love particularly well, say, my beautiful wife Kathy, or my grandson Andrew, or my sons, or my daughters; I now enter into my gratitude journal a list of all the things they’ve done recently that I’m grateful for. It’s a written prayer to God sharing what I’m thankful for, from Him, and from specific people I want to love well. My goal is to spend a few minutes each morning writing a list of what I’m thankful for. Here’s an example:

“Thank You Father for a good night’s sleep last night.”

“Thank You Father for a good conversation with Gabe yesterday during lunch.”

“Thank You Father for the good conversation with Dominick yesterday.”

“Thank You Father for everything Kathy did yesterday and today: Kathy worked hard cleaning the house, cleaning up some old stains on the carpet, and preparing the house for our next guests. Kathy washed the dishes, including the rubber sink mats. Kathy supported me taking Andrew to pickleball club. Kathy arranged for Gabe to watch Muggles and Kathy scheduled a time for us to visit Nate and Anastasia.”

“Thank You Father for the walk yesterday.”

“Thank You Father for the way You care about human beings without a voice and people on the margins.”

“Thank You Father for connecting me to the people at The Jesus Table.”

I think you get the idea.

Grateful Friends

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s been my experience that gratitude is another attribute of someone who follows Jesus closely. And what we’re trying to do here, in this book, is to identify people who abide in Jesus deeply and follow Him closely; and to engage those people and build friendships with those people. So an identifier of those people is gratitude.

The Bible supports this. God tells us in His word:

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving,” Psalm 100:4 says, “and his courts with praise!”

In my own experience and in my observations of others, the deeper we engage in gratitude practices and thanksgiving, the greater our chances of abiding in Christ the way He wants us to. (John 15:4)

And when we practice gratitude, we put ourselves in a state of heart and mind where we’re especially receptive to God.

In my experience, you’re likely to find people with deep gratitude practices in Jesus followers with faces that radiate the love of Christ, and who have the Khesed of Jesus: two attributes we’ve identified previously.

So gratitude is another big part of what fuels us and empowers us to love God well and to love others well.

“Father, please help the dear person reading this right now, and help me to go deep into practicing gratitude and thanksgiving. Lead us in these ways of Yours, Father. Help us to connect with Jesus followers who practice gratitude.

“Help us.

“We’re like little children down here.

“Help us.

“In Jesus’ name we ask. And thank You in advance for what You’re going to do.

“Amen.”

If you feel you’re lacking in power to love like Jesus, connecting with a group of people who practice gratitude is another key to unlocking that power.

Try it and see.

Notes:Christina Caron, Gratitude Really Is Good for You. Here’s What the Science Shows. New York Times, Published June 8, 2023, Updated November 20, 2023Giving thanks can make you happier, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, August 14, 2021How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain, Greater Good Magazine, Berkeley.edu, June 6, 2017Jim Wilder, Michel Hendricks, The Other Half of Church , Moody Publishers, August 4, 2020The Love Like Jesus Book

Available on Google Play Books and on Amazon!

Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)

Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others. Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:

Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.

With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.

A life of loving like Jesus. (Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon and Google Play Books.)

We also recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. It’s available on the following platforms:

AudibleiTunes/Apple BooksAudiobooks.comSpotify

It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.

You can listen right now!

God Running is a place for anyone who wants to (or even anyone who wants to want to) love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

Late Easter Sunday evening (last night, at the time of this writing), I heard someone point something out to me that I’d never heard before. And that something was this:

Jesus’ first words from the cross were, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). (If you’re interested, I wrote more about that statement here: The 7 Statements of Jesus from the Cross: Statement 1, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34.)

And…

When Jesus made that statement, He was in the very midst of his torment. He was at the height of His suffering and pain and hurt.

So it was in the midst of His torment that He forgave His tormentors.

And that blew me away. Because all my life I’ve thought of forgiveness as something that happens after I’m done hurting, after I’m finished processing the hurt someone has done to me.

After.

But Jesus didn’t do it that way.

After realizing this, it feels almost as though God has given me permission to forgive people right away, even though I’m still hurting. And I find that so powerful.

Waiting to forgive might mean I never forgive at all.

And waiting to forgive will almost certainly lead to more ruminating about what caused the hurt.

“Lord, thank You for providing us with Jesus’ work on the cross so we can be forgiven. And thank You for His way, for His example, for the way He forgave in the midst of His suffering.

“Connect us to Jesus in the best way possible, Lord. And help us to forgive the way Jesus forgave, even while we’re still hurting.

“Connect us to Jesus and change us into the likeness of Jesus.

“In Jesus’ name we ask these things of You, Father.

“Amen.”

Notes:

Image of Christ on the Cross between Two Thieves by Peter Paul Rubens via Wikimedia Commons — Public Domain

The Love Like Jesus Book

Available on Google Play Books and on Amazon!

Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)

Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others. Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:

Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.

With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.

A life of loving like Jesus. (Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon and Google Play Books.)

We also recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. It’s available on the following platforms:

AudibleiTunes/Apple BooksAudiobooks.comSpotify

It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.

You can listen right now!

God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

Luke 24:1-8

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

Early Sunday morning Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome take spices to Jesus’ tomb so they can tend to his dead body. But when they arrive, behold: the stone is rolled away. And the tomb is empty. As they’re processing the unexpected, two men in supernatural apparel say to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

Jesus is risen.

And he can’t be found among the dead.

I’m reading The Confessions by St. Augustine right now, and in my humble opinion, it’s one of the best books ever written. Throughout the book, Augustine shares the truth that only misery is found for those who live for the perishable. The way Augustine shares such raw and honest revelations of his own pursuit of the temporal makes for a compelling read. If you haven’t already, I recommend reading this amazing classic.

What he wrote resonates hard with me because that’s been my own experience. Anything and everything that’s not Jesus Christ is ultimately unfulfilling. The only place I’ve ever found fulfillment is in Jesus Himself, and in following his Way.

A fulfilling abundant life is only found in Jesus.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (Jesus, John 10:10)

The Thief

Much of what Augustine writes in The Confessions has to do with the way the thief steals Augustine’s interest, and time, and energy, and money. For years he was caught up in the pursuit of entertainment, beauty, prestige, sex, and other pleasures. The thief stole those years from Augustine. The thief stole his time, his mind, his heart. The thief stole his life for all those years.

Lo, you were within,

but I outside, seeking there for you,

and upon shapely things you have made I rushed headlong,

I, misshapen.

You were with me, but I was not with you.

They held me back far from you,

those things which would have no being

were they not in you.

(Augustine, The Confessions, Book X, Chapter 27, Section 38)

The Bride and Her Ring

Imagine with me you found for yourself a beautiful bride; beautiful both inside and out. And, out of your great love for her, you made a magnificent ring. Now imagine with me that she, having received the ring, loves it more than she loves you, the bridegroom who created the ring for her.

Would not her soul be found guilty of adultery in the very gift of the bridegroom, albeit she did but love what the bridegroom gave her? By all means let her love what the bridegroom gave: yet should she say, This ring is enough for me, I do not wish to see his face now: what sort of woman would she be? Who would not detest such folly? Who not pronounce her guilty of an adulterous mind? You love gold in place of the man, lovest a ring in place of the bridegroom: if this be in you, that you love a ring in place of your bridegroom, and hast no wish to see your bridegroom; that he has given you an earnest, serves not to pledge you to him, but to turn away your heart from him! For this the bridegroom gives earnest, that in his earnest he may himself be loved. Well then, God gave you all these things: love Him that made them. There is more that He would fain give you, that is, His very Self that made these things. But if you love these — what though God made them — and neglect the Creator and love the world; shall not your love be accounted adulterous?

(St. Augustine, Homily 2 on the First Epistle of John)

It’s no wonder we suffer in all manner of ways when we invest in what’s created at the expense of our relationship with the Creator. Can you imagine the difference between the life of the bride described above if she chose to fully engage in her relationship with her groom instead of neglecting him in favor of the ring he created?

“Miserable is every soul fettered by the friendship of perishable things” (St. Augustine, The Confessions, Book IV, Chapter 6, Section 11).

Choose Life

This Sunday is Easter Sunday, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was dead on Friday. But he rose on Sunday. And now he lives. And he offers you, and he offers me, life. And not just life but a big, abundant life. A fulfilling life. Even eternal life, with him.

Jesus’ resurrection is your hope, and mine too.

Jesus is the hope of the world.

Dear reader, by all means love what the Bridegroom gave you. But never say, “His gifts are enough for me, I do not wish to see his face now.”

Dear reader, you were created for relationship with your Creator. We live in a time of multiplying distractions, but only a shallow life is found there.

A deep, fulfilling, abundant life is only found in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Way.

Jesus is the Truth.

Jesus is the Life.

(John 14:6)

And he is risen.

Notes:

Saint Augustine, The Confessions, New City Press, April 1, 2007

Saint Augustine, Homily 2 on the First Epistle of John, New Advent

The Love Like Jesus Book

Available on Google Play Books and on Amazon!

Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)

Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others. Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:

Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.

With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.

A life of loving like Jesus. (Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon and Google Play Books.)

We also recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. It’s available on the following platforms:

AudibleiTunes/Apple BooksAudiobooks.comSpotify

It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.

You can listen right now!

Pollice Verso painting by Jean-Leon Gerome, oil on canvas, 1872

God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

Today’s article is another chapter in the book Wes Beyer and I are writing called The Jesus Shortcut: How to Become More Like Jesus (in the shortest possible time). The previous chapter was titled: Where the Power of Christ is Found.

Alypius and the Gladiator

This morning I was reading Saint Augustine’s excellent book, The Confessions. And in a certain part of the book, Augustine tells the story about a man who would become his best friend, a man named Alypius. Alypius, Augustine tells us, was a man who loathed displays of violence, and he went out of his way to avoid them. But one day, Alypius and some fellow students were returning from their midday meal when they happened to find “the stadium” open to them. That is to say, the stadium which is the Roman Coliseum, or another stadium which served the same purpose. Alypius’ buddies decided it would be great sport to drag Alypius into the stadium for a match between gladiators. Alypius resisted but was overpowered. He told his friends, “You may drag my body into that place and fix me there, but can you direct my mind and my eyes to the show?”

They heard what Alypius said, but forced him in anyway. Once inside Alypius did indeed keep his eyes closed—at the first. But at a certain dramatic moment during the fight there was a loud roar from the crowd. Alypius, curious to learn why the crowd reacted, opened his eyes, and as Augustine writes, it was at this moment Alypius “suffered a more grievous wound in his soul than the gladiator he wished to see had received in the body.”

“As he saw the blood he gulped the brutality along with it. . . . intoxicated on sanguinary pleasure.”

This was the beginning of Alypius’ addiction to the gladiator games.

And here’s the part that struck me, the part that’s so relevant to becoming like Jesus.

At the end of the story, Augustine writes of his friend Alypius:

“No longer was he a man who had joined the crowd; he was now one of the crowd he had joined, and a genuine companion of those who had led him there” (Augustine, The Confessions, p. 146-147).

For some long time after that experience, Alypius could regularly be found with the crowds drinking in the bloody spectacles of the stadium.

What Science has Identified as One of the Most Powerful Forces on Earth

One of the most powerful forces on earth is something called “social norming.” It works like this: Although each one of us believes that “I am my own man” or “I am my own woman,” although each of us likes to think, “While others may be susceptible to the influence of those they surround themselves with, I think for myself…”

Over and over again, science says otherwise.

The leading authority on social norming and influence is without question Arizona State University professor Robert Cialdini. And in simple terms, he describes social norming like this:

“What those around us are doing powerfully influences what we choose to do next” (2).

Cialdini’s experiments along with the experiments of other scientists demonstrate that human beings are profoundly influenced by the people they surround themselves with.

And the power of social norming is even greater when we surround ourselves with people who share common interests, people who are like ourselves (3). (If you’re interested in learning more about the power of social norming, there’s a list of seven resources in the Notes section of this article.)

At its core, that’s what this book is all about. The shortcut to becoming the most Christlike version of yourself possible is to surround yourself with Christlike people, especially those with common interests to your own.

So what happened to Alypius can work to our detriment, or it can work for our good. In fact, Augustine tells us, some time after Alypius became a regular with the crowd at the gladiator games, he surrounded himself with people pursuing hard after Jesus—which led to him giving his life to Christ. And he even lived a life that eventually led to his being named a saint.

Safely abiding in Christ with his friends, once again the same could be said of Alypius:

“No longer was he a man who had joined the crowd; he was now one of the crowd he had joined, and a genuine companion of those who had led him there.”

And a genuine companion of Jesus.

Notes:Saint Augustine, The Confessions , New City Press, April 1, 2007Stephen Dubner, “Riding the Herd Mentality,” Freakonomics Podcast, June 21, 2012.Robert Cialdini, interview in Thought Economics, October 2025.Robert B. Cialdini Ph.D., Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Harper Business, December 26, 2006.Alex Laskey, How behavioral science can lower you energy bill, TED 2013.Alan Berkowitz, An Overview of the Social Norms Approach.Richard H. Thaler, Nudge: The Final Edition, Penguin Books, August 3, 2021.Cristina Bicchieri, Norms in the Wild: How to Diagnose, Measure, and Change Social Norms , Oxford University Press, December 29, 2016.

Image of Pollice Verso painting by Jean-Leon Gerome, oil on canvas, 1872 via Wikipedia, Public Domain

Looking for something meaningful to listen to during the quieter winter moments? This audiobook offers practical wisdom, real stories, and gentle guidance you can take with you—whether you’re driving, folding laundry, or sneaking in a walk between the snowflakes.

Let it speak to your heart this season.

We recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. And it’s available on the following platforms:

AudibleiTunes/Apple BooksAudiobooks.comSpotify

It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.

You can listen right now!

God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

Kathy and I have been out of town because Kathy required a surgery that wasn’t available here locally, in the Portland Metro area. (Our hearts are full of gratitude! The surgery was a success and she’s doing well. Thank God.) So while we were away, my friend Wes Beyer wrote the last couple of articles here on God Running. Today we’re returning to the new book Wes and I are writing called The Jesus Shortcut: How to Become More Like Jesus (in the shortest possible time). Below you’ll find chapter two.

Acts 19:11-20

And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Acts 19:11-20

Where Does Paul’s Power Come From?

So where does Paul’s power come from? How is he able to perform these miracles? And how is it that demonic entities know about Paul (and apparently fear him too)? And what about people I know, people in my family or in my circle of friends, people in whom I see Jesus so clearly? People who are obviously filled with the joy of Christ, people who love difficult people well, people who love those who disagree with them well, people who love well those with a different worldview, people who love obnoxious characters well, people who truly love the way Jesus loved: what about those people?

That overflowing with Christ’s joy thing and that loving difficult people well thing: those are miraculous to me. Those are superpowers.

I think there’s a clue about how people with the power of Jesus do what they do. And we find our clue in the way Paul attached himself to Priscilla and Aquila, the two fellow tent makers. Paul and Priscilla and Aquila had tent making and Christ as common interests, and we see Paul intentionally connect with these two and spend time with these two.

The Main Thing: Connect with People Who Are Filled with the Love of Jesus

When I wrote the Love Like Jesus book, I shared about how Jesus lived in a way that ensured he was in good condition to love God well and to love the people around him well too. Then I shared how you and I can do the same. Most of that content can be found in chapters 21 and 24 (but also in other places throughout the book).1

But recently I’ve been reading Dr. Allan Schore’s book Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self: The Neurobiology of Emotional Development.2 And after learning a few things about our human neurobiology, there’s something I think I under-emphasized. In fact, I wonder if it’s even possible to emphasize this enough. That something is what our relationships with other Jesus followers should look like, and how important those relationships are.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,” Jesus said in John 13:34-35.

Well, what does a group of people look like when they love each other the way Jesus commanded us to?

The Way Church Works (Today in America)

Maybe your church experience has been like mine. We’re led in worship by a choir or a group of talented musicians. Then we hear a sermon on important scripture. From those scriptures and that teaching, maybe we’re instructed on how to make better choices in life. If we’re lucky, we have a small group we’re involved in. But even then, usually the format is to discuss the Bible passages and the sermon from Sunday and maybe we pray together.

These are all good things to do! So don’t get me wrong. All I’m saying is this is the current pattern for the Western church.

But something is missing.

And that something is the gleam in God’s eye when He looks at you.

An Important Attribute of Jesus Followers

Every Friday my wife Kathy sends this text to our (adult) kids and our grandson and to me too. She sent it today, at 4:52 pm:

            “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

            “The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

            “The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”

            – Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)

So that part about the Lord’s face shining upon thee. That’s something that has more importance and meaning than I realized. One of the very first things we look for as infants is the gleam in our mother’s eye, or, to put it another way, we look for a face that shines upon us. We’re looking for a face that says I love you: eyes that are sparkling; a mouth that’s smiling. Isn’t that interesting?

The most significant relevant basic interactions between mother and child usually lie in the visual area: The child’s bodily display is responded to by the gleam in the mother’s eye.3 —Heinz Kohut

And, even as adults, our brains are constantly scanning our environment for such faces.

Jesus’ face was a face that lit up when he saw people. Jesus’ face attracted people, even sinners who were ostracized in the society of Jesus’ day. The glory of God shone from Jesus’ face. (2 Corinthians 4:6) When sinners looked at Jesus’ face, they saw the light of God. When sinners looked at Jesus’ face, they saw love.

Psalm 89:15 says, “Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face…”

So it turns out, something happens to us at a deep neurobiological level when we see love in peoples’ faces. Spending time around those kind of people fuels us.2

A face that says I love you, it fuels us.

Relationships with loving people fuels us. A life without those relationships depletes us. For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross. Jesus endured the cross because of how He felt about you and how He felt about me. We suffer in our sins and Jesus suffered on the cross to redeem us. Very importantly, a big part of belonging to a group of Jesus followers who relate to each other in the way I’m describing means we don’t let each other suffer alone. We support and strengthen each other, we walk through suffering with each other. When we’re suffering, we fix our eyes on Jesus’ face shining on us, and we fix our eyes on the faces of those Jesus followers whose faces are shining on us with the love of Christ. This is hugely important to our enduring suffering. (Hebrews 12:2)

How Important is This ‘Relationships’ Thing to God?

When you study the teachings of Jesus, really, what it all comes down to is relationships. Your joy and my joy is a result of our relationship with Jesus, and our relationships with the people around us. And Jesus taught us what he taught us about relationships because he wants us to experience his joy. Your joy is one of the big reasons Jesus came to earth.

Jesus said:

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

– John 15:11

Your joy and mine was part of Christ’s purpose.

Jesus wants us to be filled with His kind of joy, this relational joy being described here.

Where the Power Comes From

If you’re like me and you wonder sometimes why you don’t seem to have God’s power to love people well, or if you wonder why you’re not experiencing the joy of Christ, I think it’s likely that one reason is because you’re not connected with people who are genuinely living for Jesus.

So be intentional already. Connect yourself with a group of Jesus followers who have the love of Christ in them. People whose eyes sparkle. People who exude the love of Christ.

Connect yourself to those people.

Be with those people often and on a regular basis and see what happens to your life.

Be with those people and see what happens to your ability to love others the way Jesus loved others.

The Only Thing More Powerful

I do want to make a qualifying statement here. As powerful as connection with impassioned Jesus followers is, there is one Christian practice even more powerful. That practice is the practice of Holy Communion. Of course this shouldn’t be surprising: Jesus Christ Himself is in the Eucharist, so naturally this intimate act of connecting with Christ is the ultimate thing any Christian can do to become more transformed into the likeness of Jesus.

For a deep dive on Holy Communion and the Eucharist, you might want to check out a book I just bought myself, Brant Pitre’s excellent work Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper. According to Bible scholar Craig Keener, this is the best book available on the Holy Communion.

Notes:

Kurt Bennett, Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus) , 2nd Edition, Enoch Media, January 30, 2020Allan N. Schore, Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self: The Neurobiology of Emotional Development, Psychology Press, April 1, 1994Kohut, H. (1971). The analysis of the self. New York: International Universities PressJim Wilder, Michel Hendricks, The Other Half of Church , Moody Publishers, August 4, 2020The Love Like Jesus Book

Looking for something meaningful to listen to during the quieter winter moments? This audiobook offers practical wisdom, real stories, and gentle guidance you can take with you—whether you’re driving, folding laundry, or sneaking in a walk between the snowflakes.

Let it speak to your heart this season.

We recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. And it’s available on the following platforms:

AudibleiTunes/Apple BooksAudiobooks.comSpotify

It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.

You can listen right now!

Paradiso: Dante and Beatrice gazing upon the highest heaven, from Gustave Dore’s illustrations of the Divine Comedy

God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

Kurt’s away this week too, so I’m stepping in once again. He should be back to writing next week, so we’ll pick up with chapters out of his new book then. And again, if any of you have thoughts about an official title, I know he’s open to suggestions, so please feel free to send us any ideas you have. If you want to get a feel for what the book is about, we’ve already posted the introduction and first chapter, and I wrote a reflection of my own on the overall theme of the book last week, which you can find here.

So last time, I talked about copying those around us; it’s not bad to imitate others who are imitating Christ, but you don’t want to lose yourself in the process and become a photocopy. That’s something that I need to work on as much as any of us, and probably even more so. 

But I also know that some of you reading this may have just started walking with Jesus. You might not have people around you yet who are actively trying to be more like Christ. So how do you surround yourself with people who are doing that? Kurt will, I’m sure, have something much more helpful in the book, but here’s what I would say about it.

I’ve been there. At least sort of. I was raised nominally Lutheran, and I made plenty of friends in Sunday school and also became friends with the pastor and his wife and several other adults in our church. At the time, though, I was more focused on imitating my older brother, who by high school had left faith behind him. My parents did their best, but faith was really only something we saw on Sundays. We didn’t pray at home much, we didn’t really read the Bible, and we didn’t really talk much about where we saw God at work in our lives with each other. Church was just something we did. I enjoyed it, but by the time I got to high school with my brother, I wasn’t surrounded by many others who were actively pursuing Jesus, and nor was I trying to myself. I was calling myself an atheist for about three years leading up to my freshman year, and nobody really seemed all that committed to convincing me otherwise. I had a feeling something was wrong about it, though, but it wouldn’t be cool to question it and risk being made fun of, so I didn’t.

God didn’t let me off the hook that easily, though. He gave me a friend during my freshman year of high school whose dad was a pastor of a different church, and he invited me to his youth group. I mostly went because some of the girls who were a part of the youth group also invited me, and as a teenage boy, how could I possibly say no? 

I stayed, though, because I met Jesus. I started spending more time with my youth group friends, and I even started going to other youth groups in the area in addition to that first one.

Now, that’s not the same thing as being completely on your own for years. I was still a child, barely dipping my toe into life without Jesus before I came running back to Him. What about those who never had that kind of experience, the ones who have been in one way or another apart from Jesus for so long that they don’t know of a single person around them seeking to be like Him?

First of all, you’re never alone. The great thing about God (as if there were only one thing) is that He’s omnipotent. He not only created you, but sustains your existence. If God ever stopped caring about you, not only would you cease to exist now, but you would cease to exist throughout all of time. He didn’t create you because He needs anything from you; He created you because He wants you to be. He is as close to you as close can get. It’s a hard thing to wrap your head around, since as human beings we only have so much we can do, so much attention we can give to any one thing, and so it’s hard for us to fathom how God could do what we say He can do. But He has an unlimited supply of attention; He can focus His complete and total attention on each individual existing thing in the universe and hold it in existence because He is infinite.

But that doesn’t really solve the practical problem of not having other human beings like yourself around you. It’s true and reassuring that Jesus is both fully God and fully man, and He is like us in all things but sin, so there is truly always another person around you. But most of us aren’t called to be hermits, living on our own with nobody but Jesus around (which is a good and legitimate calling, but it’s exceedingly rare). So here are some practical things to do to start surrounding yourself with other imitators of Christ:

Go to church. Just go. Participate in the liturgy in some way, even if you have no clue what’s going on. Spend time talking to people afterward, and in particular if you’re visiting a church where the pastor greets people afterward, go and talk with him. 

Additionally, learn about other people who have gone before us imitating Christ. The church has been around for nearly 2000 years. In that time, billions of people have set out to follow Christ. And the best part is that they’re still alive. If we’re to believe the promises of Christ, if we’re to believe in the eternal life He promises us in heaven, then it seems reasonable to me that those people who also accepted Him are not dead, but alive in heaven. This particular detail came up as I was reflecting on a passage from Matthew 17, during the Transfiguration:

“And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.” Matthew 17:3

Now, we know Elijah didn’t die. In fact, he’s one of the few figures of salvation history who we know did not experience bodily death, but was instead assumed into heaven in a chariot of fire. We know, though, that Moses did experience death. He died overlooking the Promised Land, unable to enter it himself as a punishment for disobeying God at Meribah. And yet, here he is, appearing with Elijah to talk to Jesus, very much alive.

In Hebrews, the author also reminds us that there are many others in the same boat, many who have gone before and are still alive with God now:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us.” Hebrews 12:1

Learn about their lives. Look to them as examples. Pray that God gives you the grace to be like them. And even though we can’t see them now, what we do know is that they are with God. And if God is with us, then they are too.

-Wes

The Love Like Jesus Book

Looking for something meaningful to listen to during the quieter winter moments? This audiobook offers practical wisdom, real stories, and gentle guidance you can take with you—whether you’re driving, folding laundry, or sneaking in a walk between the snowflakes.

Let it speak to your heart this season.

We recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. And it’s available on the following platforms:

AudibleiTunes/Apple BooksAudiobooks.comSpotify

It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.

You can listen right now!

Silhouette back view of woman pointing to the full moon.

God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

Hi everyone! Kurt is out of town this week, so he’s asked for me to take over writing this week’s blog. For today, we’re going to take a slight detour from publishing chapters of Kurt’s upcoming book, but I still want to keep on the general theme.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

The working title for the book is The Jesus Shortcut: How to Become More Like Jesus (in the Shortest Possible Time). I’ve been summing the thesis up to myself this way: If you want to be like Jesus, the best thing you can do is to surround yourself with other people who are also trying to be like Jesus. Jim Rohn, one of 20th century America’s most prominent business philosophers, said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Our values, our behaviors, even our mannerisms and speaking patterns are all influenced by the people closest to us. Humans are mimetic creatures naturally; we tend to copy what people around us are doing, which is why trends take hold. One minute everyone’s calling things groovy, and the next kids are shouting “6-7!” Nobody seems to know why, other than that other people are doing it.

When I was a little kid, I seemed to have a natural talent for impressions. I loved to watch Sesame Street, and my favorite character was Ernie. I could do a nearly perfect impression of Ernie (at least insofar as a four-year-old could), laugh and all. My grandparents had also bought a Super NES for my Aunt Pammy before she tragically passed away, and one of the games they had for it was Duck Hunt. We played that game whenever we were over at their house, and I quickly developed an impression of the dog from that game who laughs at you if you miss your shots. As I grew up I learned how to copy a variety of accents and developed some pretty solid impressions of friends, family, and a few famous people. In short, I have a lot of experience copying others.

Unfortunately, I didn’t just keep that proclivity for mimicry as a fun party trick or a useful skill for the theatre. This became sort of how I lived; copying other people that I admire. As a teenager, this habit of copying those around me really took off. I copied my brother out of the faith, I copied my best friend into theatre, and I copied another close friend back into the faith.

Now, good things still came from those experiences; I learned what life was like apart from God, I found something that I love to do to this day, and most importantly I found my way back to God with more conviction than if I had never left. But, at the time (and even to a degree now), I was trying to copy them. Even after coming back to faith, I wasn’t trying to be like Jesus; I was trying to be like my friend, who was trying to be like Jesus. But, and I’m telling myself this as much as anyone, if your goal is to be like Jesus by surrounding yourself with others who are trying to be like Jesus, be mindful of who it is you’re trying to imitate.

Imitate Me as I Imitate Christ

Paul encourages the faithful to follow his example in becoming like Jesus in 1 Corinthians:

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)

But it’s important to really consider what he means, and even more what he doesn’t mean. He’s calling for us to imitate his imitation of Christ, not imitate him imitating Christ. 

I can understand where that sounds like the same thing, but hear me out: Paul wants us to be imitators of Christ. He wants us to look at Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, and aim to be like Him in all things. That’s what Paul is shooting for in his own life, and so that’s what he wants us to do. What he doesn’t want is for us to erase ourselves and adopt Paul’s personality and character, focusing all our attention on copying what Paul is doing and how Paul is doing it, and think that we’re imitating Christ in doing so. To do that would be to essentially idolize Paul, and earlier in this same letter we see that some people were doing just that, and it was causing divisions in the church in Corinth. (1 Corinthians 1:10-17)

Jesus doesn’t want more Pauls (no offense if your name is Paul). He’s already got one. What He wants is a vast number of unique reflections of Him.

Reflecting Jesus

There’s a metaphor that originally comes out of Buddhism, but I think is really great for Christians to adopt. It says that if you use your finger to point to the moon, a wise person will follow the finger to look at the moon, but a fool will mistake the finger for the moon. Paul, and likewise the Christians we surround ourselves with, are pointing to Jesus. We will inevitably pick up some mannerisms, thoughts, and viewpoints from them as we spend time with them, but they are not Jesus. Our goal ought not be to copy them, but to copy the one they point to; not to imitate them imitating Christ, but to imitate the fact that they are imitating Christ.

There’s also a really incredible quote from Carlo Acutis that backs this up further. If you’re not familiar with him, Carlo was a young man from Italy not too much older than me who died in 2006 at the age of 15 from an aggressive form of leukemia, and his love for Jesus has quickly become a major source of inspiration for Christians around the world. He once said, “All people are born as originals, but many die as photocopies.”

Again, we’re bound to pick up things from the people we spend time with, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But Jesus wants you, the unique, unrepeatable individual who He made purposefully apart from every other human being throughout all of history. He doesn’t want a copy of someone you think is better than you; He wants you.

So yes, surround yourself with other people trying to be like Jesus. If you do that, you’re much more likely to be like Him. But don’t allow yourself to become a photocopy of someone else in the process. Jesus made you as a particular reflection of Himself. You reflect Him from an angle that nobody else can. 

And the last thing He wants is for that to be lost. He loves you far too much.

-Wes

The Love Like Jesus Book

Looking for something meaningful to listen to during the quieter winter moments? This audiobook offers practical wisdom, real stories, and gentle guidance you can take with you—whether you’re driving, folding laundry, or sneaking in a walk between the snowflakes.

Let it speak to your heart this season.

We recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. And it’s available on the following platforms:

AudibleiTunes/Apple BooksAudiobooks.comSpotify

It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.

You can listen right now!

God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

What follows is the first chapter of a book I’m writing called The Jesus Shortcut: How to Become More Like Jesus (in the shortest possible time). (That’s a working title by-the-way. If you have an idea for a better title, I hope you’ll share it with me.) Last week we posted the introduction to the book and if you’re interested, you can read that here: Loneliness and Isolation. For the next few weeks I’ll post a chapter of this book on the God Running blog, until the book is completed. Thank you in advance to my brother in Christ and editor, Wes Beyer, for your help with this book.

Khesed

In this first chapter we’re going to look at a very important word, and that word is a Hebrew word we see all over the Bible. The word is . . .

Khesed.

This word (pronounced by most English speakers as hessed, with the accent on the first syllable) is often translated as simply love. But I’ve learned that it’s really a combination of ideas including love, generosity, and enduring commitment and faithfulness in a relationship. To understand the deep meaning of the original word, we can look at how various Bible translations have rendered it. These different translations include steadfast love, goodness, kindness, loving kindness, faithfulness, and of course love. So the meaning of this word khesed is deep and big, much bigger than the word love in the English language. (Bible Project, ESV, KJV, YLT, WEB, NASB, NIV)1

Khesed is a deep, abiding, unwavering love.

We see it used 26 times in Psalm 136 to describe God’s great love for us: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his khesed endures forever.” That’s how it starts. And as we read we hear over and over again how God’s great “khesed endures forever.”

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who alone does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who by understanding made the heavens,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

Pslam 136:1-7

Jesus’ Khesed

We see khesed described in Ephesians 3:18-19: How great is the depth of Christ’s love.

“. . . may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

You and I already know how great God’s love is for us because of how Jesus left his throne and came to Earth in complete humility, as a helpless baby, born into lowly circumstances. How for years he worked with his hands as a carpenter. And how Jesus who was completely innocent endured mocking, false accusations, torture, and a grueling death: for us, for our faults and our sins.

How great is the depth of Christ’s love.

How great is the depth of Christ’s love.

How deep is his love for us.

This is khesed.

Your Khesed, and My Khesed

So as we think this through, we see how the word khesed transcends the word love and we see how great Jesus’ khesed is for us.

And then we see what Jesus commanded, that we should love one another as Jesus loved us. We’re to love “just as I have loved you,” Jesus said. Our khesed is to be the same as his, the same as Jesus’ khesed.

Jesus even said we’d be known as his disciples because we love each other the way Jesus loved. And Jesus loved with this khesed love.

So this is the main characteristic of what a group of Jesus followers should look like. They should khesed like Jesus.

The group should be a high khesed group.

And you and I should do everything we can to find such a group and connect ourselves to such a group.

When we do, we’ll see our ability to love others, like Jesus loved, grow: even difficult people, even enemies.

We’ll be discussing how to connect to such a group of people in the rest of this book. But it’s important we start where we have the most control: with ourselves.

“Father, please, we are pleading with You, fill the dear person who’s reading this right now and fill me with the khesed of Jesus. And help us to find a group of Jesus followers to connect with face to face on a regular basis. A group with high khesed.

“Use this group of Your people to transform us into the likeness of Jesus.

“In Jesus’ name we ask this of You.

“Amen.”

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” [emphasis mine]

John 13:34-35

Notes:Exploring the Hebrew word khesed by Bible Project Team

Jim Wilder, Michel Hendricks, The Other Half of Church, Moody Publishers, August 4, 2020

The Love Like Jesus Book

Looking for something meaningful to listen to during the quieter winter moments? This audiobook offers practical wisdom, real stories, and gentle guidance you can take with you—whether you’re driving, folding laundry, or sneaking in a walk between the snowflakes.

Let it speak to your heart this season.

We recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. And it’s available on the following platforms:

AudibleiTunes/Apple BooksAudiobooks.comSpotify

It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.

You can listen right now!

God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

What follows is the introduction to a book I’m writing called The Jesus Shortcut: How to Become More Like Jesus (in the shortest possible time). (That’s a working title by-the-way. If you have an idea for a better title, I hope you’ll share it with me.) For the next few weeks I’ll post a chapter of this book on the God Running blog, until the book is completed. Thank you in advance to my brother in Christ and editor, Wes Beyer, for your help with this book.

I recognize we’re pivoting here. Our normal thing is to post articles commenting on scripture; most recently we’ve been working through Romans. Lord willing, after the book is finished, we’ll get back to our through-the-Bible study.

Loneliness and Isolation

“There are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It may be conceded to the mathematician that four is twice two. But two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one.”

 ― G.K. Chesterton1

It’s an epidemic: loneliness and isolation. The surgeon general published a report about it in 2023. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, around half of adults reported feeling lonely and isolated.

Here’s a quote from that report:

“Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health. Our relationships are a source of healing and well-being hiding in plain sight – one that can help us live healthier, more fulfilled, and more productive lives,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. “Given the significant health consequences of loneliness and isolation, we must prioritize building social connection the same way we have prioritized other critical public health issues such as tobacco, obesity, and substance use disorders.”

Our physical health is compromised when we’re lonely and isolated. We experience an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and premature death. But the mental health problems isolation causes might be even worse. The risk of depression among those who are lonely is twice that of those who aren’t.2

One thing to keep in mind here is that the apps on your phone, laptop, and tablet aren’t interested in your isolation and loneliness. They’re designed to attract your focus and attention, and to keep you engaged as long as possible – and to keep you coming back as often as possible. They’re designed to put in front of you the-most-interesting-thing-you’ve-ever-seen (or heard) over and over again. And as time goes on, they’re only becoming better at it.3

The problem created by such effective attention-grabbing apps and entertainment is akin to eating McDonald’s at 4:30 in the afternoon. If I fill up on McDonald’s, I have no appetite for the healthy, delicious meal my spouse makes me when I come home for dinner. If we fill up on our apps and the content our algorithms feed us, we have no interest or appetite in engaging with other human beings.

And this is profoundly unhealthy.

But there’s good news. Isolation and loneliness, and their associated problems, have a solution. And for the Jesus follower, that solution isn’t simply an answer to the mental and physical health problems described above. For the Jesus follower, the solution to loneliness and isolation includes an outpouring of personal strength and power and joy.

What I share in this book, I have put into practice myself, and I’ve observed others who have done the same. The results are amazing. If you’re intentional about doing what’s described in the following pages, your life will never be the same.

“Labour together with one another; strive in company together; run together; suffer together; sleep together; and awake together, as the stewards, and associates, and servants of God. Please Him under whom you fight, and from whom you receive your wages. Let none of you be found a deserter. Let your baptism endure as your arms; your faith as your helmet; your love as your spear; your patience as a complete panoply. Let your works be the charge assigned to you, that you may receive a worthy recompense.”

– St. Ignatius to Polycarp

Notes:G. K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, Create Space, November 15, 2017U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “New Surgeon General Advisory Raises Alarm about the Devasting Impact of the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation in the United States”, May 3, 2023Tristan Harris, “How Technology is Hijacking Your Mind—from a Magician and Google Design Ethicist”, Medium, May 18, 2016The Love Like Jesus Book

Looking for something meaningful to listen to during the quieter winter moments? This audiobook offers practical wisdom, real stories, and gentle guidance you can take with you—whether you’re driving, folding laundry, or sneaking in a walk between the snowflakes.

Let it speak to your heart this season.

We recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. And it’s available on the following platforms:

AudibleiTunes/Apple BooksAudiobooks.comSpotify

It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.

You can listen right now!