Make Us Like Him

I wanted to share this prayer that I have been pondering and praying during my study of John. It is from Prayers Plainly Spoken by Stanley Hauerwas. This was a book my husband gave to his father before he passed away a few years ago. It has some beautiful, thoughtful prayers.

Spirit of Truth, direct our attention to the life of Jesus so that we may see what you would have us be.

Make us, like him, teachers of your good law.
Make us, like him, performers of miraculous cures.
Make us, like him, proclaimers of your kingdom.
Make us, like him, loving of the poor, the outcast, children.
Make us, like him, silent when the world tempts us to respond in the world's terms.
Make us, like him, ready to suffer.

We know we cannot be like Jesus except as Jesus was unlike us, being your Son. Make us cherish that unlikeness, that we may grow into the likeness made possible by Jesus' resurrection. Amen.