I absolutely cannot grow to be more like Christ by my own strength or amidst my own faulty motives. I must walk with the Lord and obey His commands because I love Him.
Simply because I love Him.
So quickly, my motivation can become more about me and what I might receive, than about Him and what He has asked. However, I am confident in this…I love Jesus! And I know He has the power to make me more like himself. In Jesus’ prayer for his disciples, he said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified” (John 17:17-19).
Jesus sanctified himself for us. Meaning He was set apart to follow the will of the Lord by His death on the cross. But He did this so that “[we] too may be truly sanctified.”
What is Sanctification?
Sanctification is the process by which we are transformed into the likeness of Christ.
“Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone…Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).
What is “The Cost of Sanctification?”
“The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns… Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).
So, how do we become more like Christ?
1.) We need to be in His Word. Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
2.) We must figure out what in our life “is not of God.” Is it changing how we spend our time or money? Is it giving up immoral television we watch? Is it our incessant selfishness? The possibilities are endless, but by knowing the Truth of His Word and prayerfully considering our circumstances, we can identify what he is calling us to change right now?
Becca V
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