Then I heard ‘We have to be like Christ’.
And I asked the Spirit of God, what does this mean? For me, an attempt to provide meaning to this expression requires a minimum of a 500-page book. So, the Spirit of God reminded me of the fruits of the Spirit. I will, therefore, attempt to address the topic of ‘Christlike’ principally from the perspective of the fruits of the spirit.
Fruits of The Spirit
The bible in Galatians 5: 22-23 says the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These fruits are the mark of a Christian character. According to Apostle Paul, these distinctive traits are the evidence of a life that belongs to Jesus Christ and a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit. These traits are at the foundation of Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge. And the Bible refers to Wisdom, Understanding, and knowledge as the treasures of life.
Furthermore, in the book of 1 Corinthians 13:13, the scripture says ‘And now abide faith, hope, and love these three; but the greatest of these is love`.
Love
Love is central to a Christlike nature. Our Lord Jesus died for our sins out of the deep love of God for his human creation. What more can demonstrate love other than laying one’s life for another. May Jesus the sacrificial lamb be exalted, praised, honored, and glorified.
To acquire a Christlike nature requires an individual to start talking, thinking, and dreaming about our Lord Jesus Christ and spend more time with him. An individual chooses to obey the commands of Christ out of love and honor for our Lord and not from fear of being caught in sin.
Desire to Please Christ
The greatest desire of an individual seeking to become like Christ is to please Christ and grow to be more like him. In the book of Philippians 3:10, the Apostle Paul says, ‘I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in death’. The main aim of a Christlike life is to glorify God.
The secret to living a Christ-like life is ‘understanding the fear of the Lord’. The fear of the Lord is the continuous awareness that our Lord Jesus is watching and evaluating everything we think, say, or do. We are all naked before our Lord Jesus Christ, before the Holy Spirit, and before God Almighty.
The individual in pursuit of a Christlike nature is constantly making decisions against a background of ‘Would this please the Lord?’
No one can live a perfect life like Jesus except the one who is incapable of sin and that one is Our Lord Jesus. Therefore, the pursuit of Christlike nature is a lifelong pursuit.
Seek To Be in Harmony with Our Lord Jesus Christ-A lifelong Process
However, what I believe is certain is that the individual who seeks to be Christlike cannot endure living in disharmony with God and will quickly confess sin and be restored to fellowship with our Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God Almighty. The process of a continuous return to harmony with the Christlike nature is called sanctification. In other words, a return to alignment with the fruits of the Spirit.
This is a lifelong process until the end comes and we fervently pray that we are admitted by Grace into the Heavens to join Our Lord Jesus who sits at the Right Hand of the Father Almighty, the Heavenly Hosts, and the four and twenty elders to Praise God in Eternity, In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.
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