As I was writing this post, I was asked to do something inconvenient. I had the opportunity to respond graciously with the attitude of a servant. But I did not. I responded with frustration and anger. In other words, I did not act Christlike.
Paul told the Philippians to have the mind of Christ (Phil. 1:5). Jesus was humble and served mankind by going to the cross. Instead of insisting on the worship of others, Jesus gave himself in death to serve others. He modeled how we’re to live.
If we follow Jesus, then we ought to begin to look like Jesus. This is the aim of the ambitious Journey Outcome #6.
Journey Outcome #6 Grow in Christlikeness.
As humans bound to sin, our natural inclinations are most often, if not always, selfish and sinful. My reaction earlier was a reflection of sin, not of Christ.
As we follow Jesus by worshiping, learning, serving, and replicating, the disciplines and practices of following Jesus are aimed to make us like Jesus. In several places in the New Testament, Paul articulates this point unambiguously.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Romans 8:29
…until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:13; 20-24
The purpose of being redeemed by Christ is that we may begin to look and act like Christ. Growing in Christlikeness does not occur accidentally. To grow requires intentionally in attitude and action. Attitude suggests willfulness. Action suggests behavior. Growing suggests process. Let’s unpack those three suggestions practically last to first.
First, growing suggests process. Spiritual maturing does not happen in a microwave. We can’t fast forward the process. God wants us to mature into godliness, but he is not in a hurry. Moses was exiled for forty years before leading Israel for forty more years never attaining the Promised Land. Moses is just one of many biblical examples where the process of maturing and forging took time.
Second, action suggests behavior. We cannot make ourselves Christlike. Only God can do that. Because that’s his purpose, the indwelling Holy Spirit transforms us. If we grow into Christlikeness, it is because God wills it and accomplishes it through the Spirit, but we are not passive in the process. We must participate in growing through active behavior. Simply, these behaviors are the disciplines and practices of the Christian faith. I’ve been writing about them weekly. As we spend time with Jesus in his Word through prayer, worship, loving God and others, we embrace the very behaviors that the Spirit uses to transform us.
Third, attitude suggests willfulness. If we are to participate with God in our behaviors, we have to make willful choices and decisions. In order to willfully follow Jesus in our behaviors we need attitude transformation as well. Again, this must be the work of God. But it is not a work God imposes upon us. Rather he woos us, invites us, encourages us, draws us, and inspires us. As we move toward him in attitude, he transforms heart and hand, belief and behavior.
If we become Christlike, then something supernatural is taking place. To forgive is humanly inexplicable. To love the unlovable is strange. To act and respond with grace when someone is acting ugly is otherworldly. Christlike Christians and churches make the gospel believable.
Our aim in life ought to be the same as our Savior–to look and act like him. Want to start? Look back at the previous Journey Outcomes: Say or Sing Praise, Engage in Gathered Worship, Listen to God Daily, Share with Others What God is Saying to You, and Pursue Accountability. Meet with God to worship and listen to him. The more time you spend with him, the more you’ll become like him.