This past Sunday we explored the story of King Josiah in 2 Kings 22–23, a young leader who rediscovered God’s Word, allowed it to pierce his heart, and led his people into repentance and renewal. Josiah reminds us that the most dangerous loss in life isn’t misplacing keys or glasses—it’s losing or ignoring the Word of God. When God’s Word breaks into our lives, it changes us from the inside out. 

But here’s the crucial point: being biblical is not the same as being Christlike. 

Sometimes people say, “We just need a biblical marriage” or “a biblical family.” But if you think about it, the Bible is full of dysfunctional families: Adam and Eve blamed each other, Cain murdered Abel, Jacob played favorites, David’s family was torn apart by sin and rebellion. These stories are in the Bible, but they’re not healthy models to imitate. 

The better question is: Am I Christlike? Does my family, my marriage, my friendships, my leadership, and my church reflect the love, humility, compassion, and grace of Jesus Christ? 

Josiah re-centered God’s people on the covenant. We are called to re-center on Christ, the living Word. Jesus Himself said the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is like it: to love our neighbor as ourselves. That is the heart of Christlikeness. 

C.S. Lewis captured this beautifully in Mere Christianity. He reminded us: 

• “Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.” 

• “The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men [and women] into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that…even the Bible itself is simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.” 

• “In a sense the outside world is quite right to judge Christianity by its results. Christ told us to judge by results. A tree is known by its fruit… When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world.” 

That raises an important question for us: Aren’t we who profess to be Christians held to a higher degree of both scrutiny and accountability? 

And what about those who claim to be Christian but whose lives bear little resemblance to Jesus? Scripture is clear: “By their fruits you will know them” (Matt. 7:16). Yes, we are all sinful people and fall short of God’s glory, but genuine faith shows itself in visible fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22–23). When fruit is absent, or when our lives consistently contradict Christ, it calls for honest self-examination, repentance, and renewal. 

That’s why it’s not enough to merely say we are “biblical.” The Pharisees were experts in the Scriptures, but when the Word made flesh stood in front of them, they missed Him. To be Christlike is to embody His humility (Phil. 2), His sacrificial love (Eph. 5), His compassion (Col. 3), and His servant heart (John 13). 

Jesus said, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34). If our hearts are shaped by His Spirit, then our words and actions will show it. Our families, our church, and our community will taste and see that the Lord is good—not just in what we believe, but in how we live (see Psalm 34:8). 

Rachel Held Evans (1981-2019), wrote deeply and thoughtfully about faith. In a 2011 blog post reproduced by Relevant Magazine, Evans noted the danger of turning “biblical” into an adjective we attach to our agendas. She observed: 

• We project – placing our cultural or personal assumptions onto the text. 

• We select – practicing a kind of selective literalism, applying some passages while ignoring others. 

• We lose things in translation – forgetting the challenge of applying an ancient text to modern times. 

• We reduce – turning Scripture into a list of bullet points or slogans, rather than honoring its richness and complexity. 

So, let me leave you (and me) with this question for the week: In my daily life, am I aiming to be biblical, or am I aiming to be Christlike? 

Because the truth is, the world doesn’t just need more “biblical” Christians—it needs Christlike ones. 

Grace and peace,