Becoming More Like Him
“The best of men are only men at their very best. Patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, – martyrs, fathers, reformers, puritans, – all are sinners, who need a Savior: holy, useful, honorable in their place – but sinners after all.” - J.C. Ryle
I recently read this quote while writing an essay for a class. It resonated with me and reminded me of a great truth. Christians are not a bunch of hypocrites, but there are times when even the best of Christians behave in a way that is contrary to Christ's moral teaching. We all stumble and fall. None of us are perfect but Christ alone. Yet, if we keep our eyes on Him, He will help us daily to become more like Him.
Of course, there are likely to be times in our lives when we are frustrated by our own lack of progress. At our
worst moments, we may even be tempted to give up entirely, thinking
that we are beyond help. How easily we sometimes forget that it is by repeatedly falling
and reaching for Christ's hand to pull us back up again, falling and
reaching, falling and reaching, that we grow to rely more and more upon
Him. We must come to realize that only Christ can transform us, day-by-day, to
be more like Him. We cannot do it in our own strength or through sheer
force of will, but only by faith through grace.
Christ was patient with those who knew themselves to be sinners, but He commanded them to sin no more (John 5:14, 8:11). However, He didn't expect them to do so without help. Christ instructed His disciples to pray to God to keep them from temptation (The Lord's Prayer) and told them to do the same while in the Garden of Gethsemane.
As John Owen said, “Longing, breathing, and panting after deliverance is a grace in itself, that [has] a mighty power to conform the soul into the likeness of the thing longed after…unless [you] long for deliverance you shall not have it...Get [your] heart then into a panting and breathing [pattern] then. Long, sigh, cry out.”
If our desire for deliverance from sin is a God-sent "grace in itself," then we should trust that God will send deliverance in His own good time. Our transformation into Godliness is a process, a journey. It requires that we call out to Christ, "Lord, have mercy!", that we draw close to Him by walking in His footsteps, listening to His voice, and trusting in His goodness, compassion, and power to help us.
Yes, even the best of us "are sinners, who need a Savior," but we can trust that Christ will finish the work He has begun in us. Take comfort in God's words to Israel through the prophet Jeremiah: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity.'” (Jeremiah 12:11-13, NIV)
Christ speaks similar words of hope to us today: "For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:10, NIV)
We stumble and fall, over and over again, and each time we fall, Christ is there to catch us in His strong and loving arms. All we need do is call His Name...and we can be sure He will save us, deliver us, and gradually, day-by-day, transform us by the power of His Spirit.
Christ was patient with those who knew themselves to be sinners, but He commanded them to sin no more (John 5:14, 8:11). However, He didn't expect them to do so without help. Christ instructed His disciples to pray to God to keep them from temptation (The Lord's Prayer) and told them to do the same while in the Garden of Gethsemane.
As John Owen said, “Longing, breathing, and panting after deliverance is a grace in itself, that [has] a mighty power to conform the soul into the likeness of the thing longed after…unless [you] long for deliverance you shall not have it...Get [your] heart then into a panting and breathing [pattern] then. Long, sigh, cry out.”
If our desire for deliverance from sin is a God-sent "grace in itself," then we should trust that God will send deliverance in His own good time. Our transformation into Godliness is a process, a journey. It requires that we call out to Christ, "Lord, have mercy!", that we draw close to Him by walking in His footsteps, listening to His voice, and trusting in His goodness, compassion, and power to help us.
Yes, even the best of us "are sinners, who need a Savior," but we can trust that Christ will finish the work He has begun in us. Take comfort in God's words to Israel through the prophet Jeremiah: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity.'” (Jeremiah 12:11-13, NIV)
Christ speaks similar words of hope to us today: "For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:10, NIV)
We stumble and fall, over and over again, and each time we fall, Christ is there to catch us in His strong and loving arms. All we need do is call His Name...and we can be sure He will save us, deliver us, and gradually, day-by-day, transform us by the power of His Spirit.
How true!
ReplyDelete