“Unless we look at a person and see the beauty there is in this person, we can contribute nothing to him. One does not help a person by discerning what is wrong, what is ugly, what is distorted. Christ looked at everyone He met, at the prostitute, at the thief, and saw the beauty hidden there. Perhaps it was distorted, perhaps damaged, but it was beauty none the less, and what He did was to call out this beauty.” (Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh)
“We are to seek Christ in everyone, from the holiest of saints down to the most depraved souls…To love someone means to see him as God intended him." (Dynamis 12/27/2014, Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
“To forgive those who wrong us is to be like Christ. No one can claim to be a Christian if he does not believe in forgiving those who sin against him and does not at least strive to put what he believes into practice. To be a Christian is to be an imitator of Christ, and to imitate Christ is to forgive our enemies.” (Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou)
“Our love for others should be of the same kind [as Christ's] —a love that goes beyond affection to self-sacrificing service…Our love for each other should be selfless, focused on service of others in imitation of Christ.” (Life Application Study Bible, Ephesians 5:1-2, Marianne C. Sailus)
“Becoming Christ like is a progressive experience. The more closely we follow Him, the more we will be like Him.” (Life Application Study Bible, 2 Corinthians 3:18)
“Being a Christian is far more than adherence to a set of doctrines or the adaptation of liturgical forms of worship and piety. To be a follower of Christ is not like joining the Elks Club, where paying your dues and attending meetings makes you a member. Taking the name of the Savior for ourselves and calling ourselves Christian must mean that we imitate the Savior’s life. It must mean that others see Christ in us, each and every hour of our day.” (Abbot Tryphon)
"As Christians we are called to take up Christ’s yoke and imitate His meekness. This does not mean we are called to be doormats. Instead it means we are to endure wrongs humbly and patiently and to let go of our anger, which is the fruit of pride." (Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou)
“God does not expect us to imitate Jesus Christ: He expects us to allow the life of Jesus to be manifested in our mortal flesh." (Oswald Chambers)
“Knowledge of God comes only in being known and loved by God, and in imitating and participating in God’s knowledge and love for us. We can imitate and participate in this divine knowledge and love, desiring it with all our hearts..." (Father Thomas Hopko)
“ ‘Imitating Christ’ is a bit of a misleading statement; not because it is not a good thing to do, but rather it can easily be misunderstood as something we can consciously do and achieve by our own will alone. Rather, imitating Christ means to live as the Church teaches us and through living as such we steadily transform over time. We become more and more Christ-like naturally. Thus we imitate Him, or more properly put, reflect Him, without even realizing it.” (Sacramental Living)
“According to our faith, we are created in God’s image and need to grow in His likeness. Every human being is therefore an icon of God.” (Sacramental Living)
“Genesis tells us we human beings were created in the image or icon of God. In other words, we can be called living icons of God Himself—icons not made of wood and paint, but of a body, soul, and spirit. Thus, when people look at us, they should be able to see God shining through us as His living icons.” (Father David L. Fontes, PsyD)
“Human beings who are created in the image and likeness of God should strive to be in communion with God all the time, to love all the time, to give everything, to share everything, to enjoy everything. That is what it’s all about.” (Father Thomas Hopko)
“Many people want to see the real God. The truth is, the only God they are likely initially to see here on earth is the one they see in us as His living icons. Our behavior in the world either manifests the truth of God’s love or distorts it into something that does not resemble God at all.” (Father David L. Fontes, PsyD)
“The youths of today are drawn to authenticity, and until they see Christ in the lives of parishioners who are living icons of Christ and who are loving, humble servants of this very Christ, they will continue looking for truth in a wasteland of spiritual confusion.” (Abbot Tryphon)