A disciple of Jesus … Pursues Christlikeness

1 John 2:6 - Those who claim to belong to God must live just as Jesus did.

How Christlike are we? We may have committed our lives to Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, at which point many things changed in our lives. We were adopted into God's family (John 1:12-13), the Holy Spirit came to dwell within us (1 Corinthians 6:19), all of our sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14), we became recipients of eternal life (John 3:16), and we became blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3).

However, coming to faith is merely the beginning of a process of transformation. We don't instantaneously become like Jesus as soon as we commit our lives to Him. The full transformation won't take place until we see Jesus face to face (1 John 3:2), but, as we grow in our faith, the Holy Spirit will work a process of sanctification within us so that we become more and more like Jesus:

2 Corinthians 3:18 - As all of us reflect the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, we are becoming more like him with ever-increasing glory by the Lord's Spirit.

Marilyn Baker, the blind pianist and singer, expresses this process of sanctification in the following song:

Jesus, You are changing me:

By Your Spirit You're making me like You;

Jesus, You're transforming me,

That Your loveliness may be seen in all I do;

You are the Potter and I am the clay:

Help me to be willing to let You have Your way;

Jesus, You are changing me,

As I let You reign supreme within my heart.

Another worship song which also takes the example of the potter and the clay to illustrate how we are gradually being moulded to be like Jesus is this song by Darlene Zschech:

Beautiful Lord, wonderful Saviour
I know for sure all of my days are held in Your hand
Crafted into Your perfect plan

You gently call me into Your presence
Guiding me by Your Holy Spirit
Teach me dear Lord, to live all of my life through Your eyes

I'm captured by Your Holy calling
Set me apart, I know You're drawing me to Yourself
Lead me Lord, I pray

Take me, mould me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the Potter's hand

Both of these songs make the point that being transformed into Christ's likeness doesn't happen automatically. We need to submit to the Potter's hand. We need to be willing to change. We need to cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This reminds me of the joke: How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: only one, but the light bulb's got to want to change!

So, as disciples of Jesus, how can we best pursue Christlikeness? Here are some suggestions:

1. Spend time with Jesus, in prayer, worship and reading His Word. The closer we draw to Jesus in fellowship, the deeper our relationship with Him will become, and the more we will get to know Him and become like Him.

2. Cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He works in you to renew your heart and mind so that your attitudes and thought patterns become more like Christ's.

3. Maintain a repentant heart so that you can, with God's help, rid yourself of sin, especially besetting sins.

4. Build strong friendships with brothers and sisters in Christ who can encourage each other in holy living.

5. Seek out mentors or role models, mature believers who can walk with you and encourage you.

6. Adopt a rhythm of regular fasting, which helps to subdue the flesh life and sharpen the spirit life.

7. Serve others and exercise your God-given gifts and talents with love, kindness and humility.

Prayer
Dear Father, please search our hearts and point out anything in our lives which offends You. Help us, we pray, to cooperate with Your Holy Spirit as He  continues to sanctify us day by day, so that we become more and more like Jesus in our thoughts, words and deeds. Amen!