On Ethics of Christlikeness

It seems so easy to propose a theocentric ethics in relation to Christlikeness, but how is this possible? While it is God who is responsible of revealing himself to mankind, it is also true that man construct concepts of God according (at least in relation) to his own orientations, i.e. religious experiences, environment, culture, and natural realities. It would be presumptuous for man to confine Christ in his own interpretations, whether it has something to do with written revelation. Here, the confusion is of the concept of Christlikeness and its impact on ethics.

What is the ethics of Christ? Is Christlikeness a "mind set"? Is it objective or subjective? What is its nature? Is it possible? Christlikeness can be a major concern, especially for practical reasons. It is the kind of life where the believer tries to be conformed—like a small Christ—to the image of the Son of God. But contemporary understanding of “image” is too subjective. It could mean an outer reflection, worse, a psychologically shaped understanding. It is a fact that we are living in an extra-biblical times. There might be some modern interpretations and equivalent of the circumstances of Jesus to the present, but it must be noted and recognized also that our time is more different to Christ's time.

Any believer can face the same struggle of asking: How can I be sure that what I do is indeed Christlike? How certain am I that what I perceived is not just an image of my own making? In every moral decision, isn’t it that my initial response, reasoning, and motivations were well affected--and not to mention, predetermined--by my own worldview and culture? It is an undeniable reality that even the way I look at the Bible is more dictated by my own understanding; perhaps totally different to the past where I was not actually there. Even if I try to live in two worlds--the world of the Bible and the present--I still must recognize that there is a greater tendency that what I think might not necessarily be the accurate one.

Even Christian thinkers before me can acknowledge that retrieving the real, historical Jesus is a hard task; even in answering the cliche: "What would Jesus Do?" on some situations not explicitly mentioned in the Scriptures, the ethical answer is far from crystal clear. But this does not mean that living like Christ is impossible. With God’s revelation before the community of believers, I would prefer by virtue living “in Christ” as a practical suggestion to those who were striving to live a moral and responsible lives. Living in Christ entails love, freedom, grace, and moral responsibility—a life lived under the influence of Christ.