Becoming More Like Christ

The ultimate of our Christian life is to become like Jesus. God created us in His own image according to Genesis 1:26. That means everything. He wants us to be like Him. That nature of God in man was marred by sin. God has been longing to see that image restored in us. When we come to Christ, that image is restored. But do we become like Him immediately we become born again. Do all the old things become new at conversion? What does it mean then that we “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” according to Phil 2:12? Transformation is a process and we are to be committed to that process. Salvation begins a beautiful and exciting journey with the Lord. On that journey, we are transformed moment by moment into His own image.

The more you become like Christ, FIVE THINGS HAPPEN as follows:

1. The more you become like Christ, the more fruitful you become. Fruitfulness comes out of a relationship. In the process of being fruitful, we are pruned so we can become even more fruitful. But the pruning process can be a rather painful one, but is needed for more fruitfulness. The more you become like Christ, the more you excel in the things of God.

2. The more you know the mind of God. You will begin to recognize what He expects of you and what needs to be done to extend His kingdom. Becoming kingdom minded does not come to us naturally. The presence of Jesus makes it possible.

3. The more willing you are to do His will. In John 4.34, “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work”. He again said in John 6.38 that “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me”. He has food for us, and that food is to do His will. Doing His will becomes possible when we become more like Him.

4. The more you depend on God in everything. Jesus said, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge ... I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 5:30). If the Lord Jesus depended on God in what He did, then we also need to depend on Him. Whose work are you doing? Who are you depending on in that process? As you are becoming like Christ, you will come to a clear understanding that the work is His and you need Him to succeed.

5. The more you desire a change in character. The desire to improve in character comes to you naturally as you draw closer to the Lord.

BECOMING MORE LIKE CHRIST IS A PROCESS

Becoming more like Christ is a process. In that process, you need to:

1. Be CONSISTENT. It cannot be on and off. You cannot sign in and sign out. You cannot meet obstacles and give up. You work on it daily – Phil 2.12.

2. Be INTENTIONAL. It does not happen by chance. You need to be intentional about it

3. Be COMMITTED to the process. There is little success when you are not committed to the process. This is something no one can do for you. Without commitment, you can give up when you meet obstacles.

The assurance we have is that God Himself supplies us with all the resources we need in order to succeed. And so we do not do it all in our own strength.

Becoming like Christ is never an event. You do it, one step at a time and one day at a time. If it is change in character, identify the areas that need change and work on them one at a time. God does not usually overwhelm us with so many things to work on at once. He holds our hands and grants us grace, one step at a time. Sometimes, you can win in multiple areas at once but it does not usually happen like that. Do you get angry easily, often feel lustful, tell lies sometimes, cheat, steal, have challenges with interpersonal relationships, and have difficulty celebrating the success of others? You can work on them one at a time. Spend time to do a study on the area, choose sermons that address the subject, and begin to work on it. You will succeed. You can even plan it as a habit formation process and begin to do the one that pleases God. If you are able to do it consistently over a period, you will soon be smiling. Do not give up when you make a mistake. Get up in the power of the Lord and keep moving forward. Your progress makes satan angry.