IMG_9497How then do I, with all my human frailties, take as my role model and example, Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Especially in these troubled and changing times, beset with prejudices and fears, how do I emulate such an alternative lifestyle when even the apostle Paul says,’ The good I want to do, I don’t do, and the evil I want to avoid, that I do!’ (Romans 7.21) How is it possible for us to become more Christ like?

Philippians 2.5 says we should have the same mind/attitude/ thinking as that of Jesus. As a very young Christian, my greatest fear was that I could not live this life that I was too weak and I would fail. But the incredible truth is that Jesus Himself makes it possible for us all to live this life.

In 2 Corinthians 3.18 it says, ‘We all…beholding the Lord, are being transformed into the same image…by the Spirit of the Lord.’ One of the comments in the Spirit Filled Life Bible on this verse is, ‘Spend time in ‘Gods presence’ and expect the Spirit to transform you into the image of His glorious Son’. Little, by little, by little as we spend time with Jesus we become more like Him. There is a train of thought that says, who we spend our time with over a prolonged period, we begin to look and act like them! You may see long term spouses who resemble brother and sister, and finish each others sentences, they have been in each others company for so long! But certainly as we ‘behold’ or look intently at Jesus, the Spirit begins to transform us into His likeness.

This is why it is so important to ‘look at’ Jesus, not just an occasional glance but as it says in Hebrews 12, when things are tough,  ‘Fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith.’

This should be so simple to fit into our lives. In our services, engage during worship, gaze into His face, and contemplate who He is. During the word, be determined to listen and hear what He is saying to you at this particular time. It’s why we are constantly encouraged to get into the Bible, to pray and meditate, or simply think about Jesus and His ways. Walk and talk with Jesus, because as we do, as we behold Him, we can expect to be transformed into His image, the Spirit does it for us!

In the story of Mary and Martha, it isn’t wrong to be a ‘Martha’, every church needs servers, but it’s as we release our ‘Mary’ side and sit at His feet gazing intently into His face and hearing His words that we are changed, from the inside, into the image of Jesus, from glory to glory.