[Today, the congregation I serve as pastor begins a Lenten journey to what Christians call servanthood. Our members will be going through these daily readings for the next forty days. I hope that readers of Better Living will find them helpful. All Scriptural citations are from the New Revised Standard Version unless otherwise noted.]
God’s goal for your life is for you to be like Jesus.
God has set apart every person He’s called to follow Jesus Christ “to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many brothers” (Romans 8:29, Good News Bible).
Impossible? Outrageous? Presumptuous? Maybe. After all, Jesus was (and is) not just a human being, but God. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible...all things have been created through him and for him...in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell...” (Colossians 1:15-19).
But I’m not making this up. God means for you to become like Jesus.
Jesus is the prototype of a new human race. This is what the apostle Paul was talking about in First Corinthians 15 when he effectively designated Jesus the new “Adam.” “For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ” (First Corinthians 15:22). Sin infected the human family when Adam rebelled against God. Because human beings are the pinnacle of God’s creation, the only one of God’s creatures to bear “the image of God” (Genesis 1:26-28), all of creation bears the burden and the signs of our rebellion against God.
But God means to give fresh starts to all who turn from sin and surrender to Jesus Christ (Second Corinthians 5:17). Jesus is the new Adam, the resurrected first example and the pioneer of the new human race of which God invites all people to be a part.
In Christ, we are born anew (John 3:3). But just as our physical births are only the beginnings of our lives, so our spiritual births only begin our lives in Christ.
God’s goal for your life is for you to be like Jesus.
Bible Passage to Ponder: “God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.” (Romans 8:29, The Message)
3 comments:
An excellent goal we should be striving for each day of our lives. Remembering to keep our focus on God throughout our daily lives, at home, work, school, and to praise God in everything we do.
EF: Thanks so much for dropping by and for your comments.
Mark
good thing to chanced upon your blog. made my day refreshed because of God's gift of life in Christ.
keep it up. and God bless in your blogging ministry.
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