Step 3 – Becoming More Like Christ
Step 3 – Becoming More Like Christ
Do you ever think that this is just too big of a request? Why would God instruct us to become like Jesus when there is absolutely no way we can be perfect? How are we supposed to live up to this impossible expectation? I mean… can we talk about expectations? Expectations trip me up. I am not sure if others expect a lot of me or if it is me that tries too hard to please others. If I am not careful, I can let my failure to please others cause me to believe that God is not pleased with me. Oh but contrary to that belief… (hallelujah!)… God sees us through a filter – a filter that washes us white as snow. There is no guilt trip. There is no condemnation. There is simply an invitation.
You are cordially invited to get up close and personal with Jesus Christ –
Master, Savior, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Your Savior humbly requests the pleasure of your company
so you can grow to know Him more intimately.
He stands with His hand held out waiting for us. It feels like a fairytale. Me? Is Jesus inviting me? Me with all my flaws? Me with all my failures? Is He inviting me to know Him more? But it isn’t a fairytale, it is real life. The Savior of the World, the One who came to set you free, is inviting you to experience more with Him. What will you do? What will you say? He is waiting…
We want more. We want God to help us! We cry out and ask for His help and He is there ready to help us, holding His hand out, waiting for us to take it. We want Him to do what we think is best. The problem is His way is not like ours and we struggle to believe what He is doing is best. God is ready to help us become more like Christ. He will use all things we go through – every hard day, every heartbreak, every situation to help us. He will help us grow to know Him and His goodness more. He will help us change and transform into who He created us to be. He is waiting for us to trust Him and accept His help so we can become more and more like Jesus.
What will you do? Will you say, Yes! and step into a more intimate relationship with Jesus? Or will you settle for less, go along to get along and miss out on His best for you?
The past few weeks we have talked about steps we can take to become more like Christ. We have learned that we must grow in our knowledge of Him – not so we can know more about Him, but so we can know Him more. We discovered that our knowledge of Jesus must impact our heart. Only then can we fulfill the great commandment to love Him with all of our heart, all of our soul and all of our mind. The next step is…
3. Develop intimacy. The more we come to know Jesus and the more we obey Him – a real relationship begins to develop. We learn to abide in Him.
It is our love for Him that will lead us to walk in obedience to Him, and it is our obedience to Him that allows us to fellowship with Him. Jesus modeled that for us. He was one with His Father and obeyed Him even to the point of death. We show, prove if you will, our love for Him by walking in obedience to Him. As we do, our intimacy deepens and we discover what it means to abide in Him.
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:9-11
Abide is a beautiful word. It means to dwell, to stay, to settle in, to sink deeper. We have been invited to abide in Christ. As we dwell with Him and sink deeper, we will transform into the likeness of Him and others will see Him in us. We will learn to follow His example and do as He did (1 John 2:6), we will be set free from habitual sins that once enslaved us (aka: that’s just how I am) (I John 3:6), and we will experience His divine presence in our life. (1 John 4:13)
Intimacy with Jesus is the most beautiful thing we can experience. He invites us into more and more, deeper and deeper still until we know Him as we are known. Oh, what a day that will be.
A Note from Pam:
Hi sweet friend. Thank you for traveling this journey with me. I love that we encourage one another to focus on the things that matter most.
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