To be a Christian, a follower of Christ, we are meant to follow His example. That doesn't mean subjecting ourselves to the pressure of having to perform in a certain way, or live up to a certain pious standard of expectation. To really model our lives after Christ's, we must understand the essence and heart of His purpose. He came to earth to live among us demonstrating a life completely in harmony with the Father. Jesus's life, in truth, portrayed the character and love of His Father. He said that if we wanted to see and know the Father, all we needed to do was look at Him. So when we surrender our lives to truly know Jesus through what His Word says about Him, we practically understand His intentions towards us. Then everything we encounter in life will be filtered through the grid of a deep seated knowledge of His Father's heart for us. No form of fear or bondage will ever be able to steal our peace or joy when we constantly renew our minds and hearts to what His thoughts and intentions are concerning us. Knowing full well that He loves us with an everlasting love, and has promised to never leave us helpless or relax His hold on us (Hebrews 13:5,6); influences and impacts the lives of everyone we meet. The freedom and joy that comes from knowing God this way causes us to spontaneously love and serve others generously, without any selfish motives. This becomes the greatest telltale sign of Who we truly belong to.