Jesus as a role model - A place for God in our world

life4seekers homepage - A place for God in our world - Jesus as a role model

The information we have about Christ has been recorded in the Gospels, which are perhaps the equivalent of our modern day newspaper features or published biographies. The authors of the information were Jesus' friends who were called Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and so their accounts of what happened are likely to be honest and truthful. The Gospels are found in the Bible and we’ve added download links if you'd like to read what the gospels include for yourself, please see the free downloads below.

Gospel of Matthew
(791k)

Gospel of Mark
(688k)

Gospel of Luke
(784k)

Gospel of John
(708k)

As you'd expect, we've learned a lot of the basics about Jesus from these personal accounts. Nowadays the information is more likely to appear like this:

		Jesus Christ
		2004 years ago
		Male
		Bethlehem, Israel
		Joseph
		Carpenter
		Mary
		Full time Carer
		No siblings, but close relationship with immediate family
		Working class
		Since aged 30, an inspirational speaker, physical and mental healer and charitable philanthropist
		Assistant carpenter
		Reliability and strength of purpose. Loving, forgiving nature. A team player with strong leadership qualities. Remarkable ability to achieve where others failed. Gifted. Charismatic. Ability to motivate and inspire others to greatness
		Investor in people

We read about 'greatness' in the papers every day. In amongst the doom and gloom there are usually new discoveries and inventions, and people who have performed amazing acts of compassion and bravery.

Want to see the kinds of things Jesus suggests about love, life and truth? In his own words:

On caring:

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you".

Click here for more in Jesus' own words

"I don't find Jesus' message limiting and I think it's just as relevant to us now as it has ever been. Imagine having the foresight to have lifestyle suggestions that are so simple and timeless!"

Your guide for this section is Vivien, she asked the same questions. She is a single mother, 30, and comes from Coventry. Click here to read her story.

[Read on? Books/links - Click here for more]

Jesus as a role model:
Life4seekers response

Colour illustration by Elizabeth Wang:

The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God and the Call to Conversion

www.radiantlight.org.uk

God as a role model for a human is a tough one to aspire to!

Just over two thousand years ago, God, became a man. God came down to earth in human form in the person of Jesus Christ and taught us about God's never ending love for every person. He proved he was God through some of the miracles he performed. Take a look at our "Merely a Man, but also a God" page, click here to find out more.

What puts people off Jesus as a
role model? Recognise any of these?

"The claims about 'miracles' are too far fetched"

"Bible bashers turn people off "

"The teachings are out of date and too dictatorial and restrictive for modern life"

"People abuse Jesus' name in order to meet their own objectives"

These comments show how people have been put off following the teachings of Jesus. However, if we can go beyond this negativity for just a moment, could it have been that Jesus' message was valid?

Don't dismiss the message because you can't accept the whole story or don’t approve of how overbearing or manipulative people can be sometimes. Jesus was perfect, his followers aren't.

What would we make of a role model like Jesus nowadays, someone who could perform some of the miraculous things he did?

"Jesus was and still is a huge source of peace and hope. I use him as a role model because I enjoy the feelings of positivity and stability he brings to my life. It's sometimes challenging to apply what he taught, and yet it has such amazing results in your life - even nowadays. That's why people can become so effusive about it all!

Here are some of the things he suggests we aspire to: to be truthful, to try not to be judgmental, to aim to be honest, to believe that every life has value, and because of this, that we should have a positive respectful attitude to those we share our world with.

Jesus was truthful, gentle, kind, sensitive, compassionate, loving and strong. He was perfect in every way. He had real charisma and people would flock to him (especially children) to hear him speak and to learn from him. Jesus spoke sincerely of the need for human equality in a time when the concept was unheard of. It must have been so inspiring and liberating for the oppressed to hear this, whilst at the same time absolutely terrifying for the oppressors!

"I have a problem with this. I don't believe Jesus could have been without any faults. No-one can possibly be that perfect. I just don't believe it."

"I find the bit about Jesus' perfection too unbelievable. People would start to resent him if he was perfect in every way."

"It's hard to believe Jesus was faultless because we are judging him with human values. He had a Godly nature and so that level of perfection would be outside the natural scope of a human beings reality and experience."

This is a website of the Catholic Enquiry Office; part of an Agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales

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