Romans 12:2... Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV
2 Corinthians 3:18... And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. NIV
The goal of a Christian is to become like Christ. Just what exactly does that mean? What characteristics of Christ are we supposed to develop? Becoming Christlike is a transformation... changing from one sort of person to another. Is it our work or does it transcend us to a power beyond our control?
Our conversion from sinner to child of God includes a change of mindset. One of the first steps in becoming Christlike is to adopt the mindset of Christ. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus...” (Philippians 2:5) When we choose to surrender our lives and our will to God, we take a first step on the path towards developing a fully functioning Christlike mind. What does this mean? Simply stated... we are using our will to intentionally choose God over the world, just as Christ did when He went to the cross for our sakes. Many of the characteristics of Christ, like kindness, goodness, patience and obedience, will be easier manifest in our lives by first using “our will” to make a decision to change.
Once we make a choice to become more Christlike, the Holy Spirit begins the work within us of transformation. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” NASB (2 Corinthians 3:18) First, we surrender by our willingness, and the Holy Spirit begins the transformation of our spirit to a Christlike spirit. His work in us is what makes the transformation possible.
Total commitment to Christ is what makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to transform us into Christlike beings. Look at the example of Matthew: “As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.” (Matthew 9:9) While the other disciples had professions they could return to if they needed, Matthew was a tax collector and when he left his booth to follow Christ, he left behind his ability to earn a living. That took total commitment and faith and that is the kind of commitment we must make to be truly transformed.
Choosing discipleship to Christ was Matthew’s way of expressing his total commitment. The point of discipleship is to become like the teacher. “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord.” (Matthew 10:25) While Matthew was able to follow the human Christ, we also choose to be disciples by following the teachings of Christ. In these teachings we learn what our teacher was like and as His Spirit is revealed to our spirit, we become more like Him.
Matthew’s commitment shows us that he made a significant sacrifice to follow Christ. We too may find ourselves in circumstances that requires such a sacrifice some day. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” (Mark 8:35) This is where the rubber meets the road and our true commitment to Christ is fully revealed. Think of it as the ultimate in spiritual transparency... nothing is hidden from full view.
In the U.S., we have not had to make many sacrifices to be Christians, but in many other countries, Christians have been terribly persecuted for their dedication to Christ. It bears thinking about how much we are willing to sacrifice for Christ. The answer will reveal a great deal about your commitment and how far you have come in the journey to become Christlike.
What characteristics reveal Christ in us? Humility will probably be at the top of the list. “and whosoever wishes to be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:27) God came to us on earth not as a richly robed king but as a humble servant. He suffered shame and degradation for our sakes. Are we willing to suffer the same for His sake?
If we are, it will show in our love for others. Jesus suffered for us because He loved us. He asks us to love each other in return. “This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) The progress of our transformation can probably be best gauged by our love for others. And, not just the people that are easy to love, but our love for those who have hurt us.
Loving those who have hurt us requires forgiveness. That is a huge intentional choice. Christ came to us to make forgiveness for our sins possible. We didn’t earn or deserve forgiveness on any merit of our own. He gave it to us because of His love for us. He had every right to not forgive us but he forgave us anyway. He is our example of how we are to forgive. “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.” (Colossians 3:13) Even if we have every right to not forgive, we must do it anyway... to be truly Christlike.
Christlike behavior includes spreading the gospel. Jesus came to save us but He also came to teach us. “And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) He passed on the responsibility of teaching to us. Spreading the Gospel everywhere to anyone, carries on His work and makes us more like Him.
As we teach we also learn and grow till we no longer find the old dead spirit in us but see Christ in us. “who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:21) The change will be gradual and we will slide backwards sometimes. It will not be complete on earth, either, but we should strive to become as much like our beloved Savior as we can while we are in this world. Only in heaven will the work be completed in us... “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
We cannot make ourselves Christlike, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to do that work. Our job is to be willing to change and to live in the changes the Spirit makes in us. We must be committed to change completely. When we are, the love of Christ will shine from us and we will become forgiving and humble teachers of the Gospel.
Remember “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
