Your Highest Calling: Living as Jesus Lived
(Introducing one of my recent books)
The world is filled with voices telling us how we should live, achieve success, and find happiness. Yet amidst the noise, there is a timeless call—one that leads us to something deeper, more authentic, and life-giving. This is the way of Jesus, a style of living that is radically different from anything else. It is a call not to blend in, but to stand out, to be the salt and light in a world desperate for both.
The Jesus style is not just about adopting religious beliefs or following rituals. It’s about transforming every aspect of your life—your decisions, your relationships, your heart—so that they reflect Jesus Himself. This book was written to help you embrace that transformation, to align your life with the way Jesus lived and the purpose for which He came to earth.
The Authority, Authenticity, and Amazement of Jesus
Jesus was not like other teachers of His day, and He is certainly not like any figure the world has seen since. The crowds that followed Him were amazed because He taught with authority, authenticity, and a power that was impossible to deny (Matthew 7:28-29).
He was real, He was relevant, and people noticed. Today, people are still looking for something real. They are searching for hope, healing, and truth in a world that feels increasingly chaotic.
When Jesus taught, He didn’t speak as one of the scribes, who merely repeated the traditions of their elders. He spoke with divine authority, as the very Word of God (John 1:1). His authority was backed by actions that astonished the multitudes—miracles, healings, and demonstrations of power that affirmed His identity as the Son of God.
People were drawn to Him because He was authentic, and He revealed God in a way that made sense to them. His authenticity cut through the legalism and hypocrisy that many had grown weary of.
As His followers, we are called to carry forward this same Jesus style—living with authority in our faith, authenticity in our actions, and offering something amazing to a world in need. As the Apostle Paul reminds us:
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NKJV).
We are representatives of Jesus to a watching world, called to live lives that reflect His heart and purpose.
The Purpose of Jesus: Destroying the Works of the Enemy
Jesus came with a mission:
“For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8, NKJV).
His life was one of action. He didn’t just look at the brokenness of the world; He healed it. He didn’t just observe pain; He entered it and brought freedom. He didn’t merely diagnose the problem of sin; He became the solution by offering His own life as a sacrifice. And that same calling is extended to us.
The Apostle Paul speaks often about this purpose of Jesus. In Acts 10:38 NKJV, he declares:
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.”
Jesus was a healer and a deliverer, and He passed that mission on to His disciples and, by extension, to all believers. Paul himself experienced this transformative power when he went from being a persecutor of the church to an ambassador of Christ:
“I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16, NIV).
When we embrace the Jesus style, we are not passive spectators but active participants in God’s redemptive work. We are called to “loosen” or “annihilate” the works of the enemy, bringing healing and restoration wherever we go. Jesus made this clear:
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12, NIV).
This promise is staggering. Jesus says we are not only to carry on His works of healing, teaching, and deliverance, but we are also to do greater works. This means that our potential to impact the world for Christ is even greater than the impact of His earthly ministry, not because we are greater than Jesus, but because His Spirit is now working in us and through us to continue His mission.
If we are willing to embrace this call, we will see incredible things happen, and not by our own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Salt and Light: A Call to Be Different
Jesus used two powerful metaphors to describe our role in the world: salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). Salt preserves, heals, and enhances flavor. Light illuminates, exposes, and guides. Jesus didn’t say we might become salt and light—He said we are salt and light.
But what does that look like in practice? Salt, in its essence, preserves what is good and prevents decay. In the same way, our lives are meant to preserve the goodness of God in a world filled with moral and spiritual decay. We stand firm in our faith, refusing to compromise, and by doing so, we prevent corruption from taking over the spaces we inhabit.
Paul expands on this idea:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2, NIV).
Being salt means living a life that is distinct from the world by not blending in but standing out for Christ. It means refusing to allow the culture around us to dull our convictions or compromise our values.
Light, on the other hand, reveals truth and provides direction. Our lives should reflect Jesus so brightly that those around us cannot help but see Him through our actions. Like a lamp on a stand, we are meant to guide others toward the truth, showing them the way out of darkness and into the light of Christ.
Jesus makes this point clear:
“A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15, NIV).
The world is watching us, and our lives should point them to the hope and truth of the Gospel.
The Cost of Losing Saltiness and Hiding Light
There is a warning in Jesus’ words as well. If salt loses its flavor, it becomes useless, and if light is hidden, it fails to fulfill its purpose. These are not just metaphors but serious reminders of the importance of staying true to our calling. The world will try to dull your influence and hide your light, but Jesus calls us to stand firm, to shine brighter in the face of opposition.
Paul himself knew the cost of standing firm for Christ. Imprisoned, beaten, and rejected, he did not waver in his mission to be a light in the darkness. In his letter to the Ephesians, he wrote, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1, NIV).
This is a call not only to apostles, prophets, and teachers, but to every believer. We are all called to reflect the light of Christ in our own unique situations.
Losing our saltiness can happen in various ways. When we compromise our values, when we conform to the patterns of this world instead of being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), we lose our effectiveness as salt. We become indistinguishable from the world around us, and our witness is weakened.
Similarly, hiding our light under a bowl is a missed opportunity to influence those around us. Fear, insecurity, or a desire to fit in can lead us to conceal our faith. But Jesus calls us to be bold, to let our light shine brightly so that others may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.
Conclusion: Living the Jesus Style
This book is a guide to living out the Jesus style in every aspect of your life. It’s not about being perfect; it’s about being intentional, letting your life be shaped by the same values and principles that shaped Jesus’ life.
The Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5:1 NIV:
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
We are called to be imitators of Christ—to live in such a way that when people see us, they see a reflection of Jesus Himself. Paul again urges in 1 Corinthians 11:1 NKJV:
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”
This call to imitation isn’t passive; it requires active engagement, shaping every decision, relationship, and interaction to reflect the love, humility, and purpose of Jesus.
As we move through each chapter of this book, we will explore how to practically live as salt and light, carrying the authority, authenticity, and amazement of Jesus into every corner of our lives.
Just as Jesus was sent to bring healing, hope, and restoration, we too are sent to reflect that same mission in the world. Being an imitator of Christ means living out His love, humility, and servant heart in all we do.
The time is now to stop hiding your salt and light. The world needs you to step into your calling and live out the Jesus style. As Paul encourages us in Galatians 6:9 NIV:
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Every time we choose to imitate Christ, we become a beacon of hope in a dark world, offering the same healing and transformation that Jesus brought.
In following Jesus’ example, we not only fulfill our calling, but we also participate in God’s greater mission to redeem the world:
“Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6, NIV).
The imitation of Christ is not just our highest calling—it is our only true calling. Are you ready to live the Jesus style?*
Check out the book at https://stan.store/iannschonken/p/the-jesus-style-life for a 30% discount over Amazon. :-)
If you prefer Kindle or paperback: Go to Amazon please. :-)
* Special recognition of my mentor and friend Tim Storey, who first introduced me to the term The Jesus Style in the 1990s. I also would be remiss to not mention the book entitled The Jesus Style by Gayle D. Erwin and Richard C. Halverson (who coined the term in 1988).