Growing In Christ And Being Like Him...

I once read about a fella who said these words, "One of the most dangerous forms of human error is forgetting what one is trying to achieve." These words are especially true with respect to the Christian life. It's so easy to get sidetracked! As Christ followers, we need to be absolutely clear and focused at all times on what it is we're after. So the question becomes, "What is the goal of the Christ follower?" If we forget it, we're not likely to achieve it! The goal can and has been stated in many ways, but in our passage (Philippians 3:10-11), the apostle Paul sums up what we as Christ followers are supposed to be aiming at. The goal of the Christ follower is to know Jesus and to be like Him! Paul says, "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;" "in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." As Christ followers, we must understand and embrace that Christianity is definitely NOT a religion of rules and rituals that we are to work at keeping in order to climb the stairway to heaven. Rather, it is a personal, developing relationship with the risen, living Lord Jesus that results in our growing conformity to Him. Our goal is to know Christ and to become like Christ. Our Lord Jesus said the very same thing when He prayed these words, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3). Christianity is first and foremost a growing relationship with God who has revealed Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to develop our relationship with God and this requires time. Do you often make time to spend with the Lord? It's real easy for that love to wax cold, and time between you and the Lord gets squeezed out with other things. Or, it becomes your "duty" to spend personal time, so you get your Bible and simply go through the motions! But, there was not any love in it! You were not seeking to know Jesus in a more intimate way. You were not opening your heart to Him, so that He could confront you and make the needed adjustments in you to make you more like Himself! There has to be closeness, there has to be intimacy. To be a Christ follower is to love the Lord Jesus Christ. When we lose sight of that fact, the passion and fervor for Jesus becomes cold, routine, habitual, and mechanical. In closing, remember the words of Jesus to the church at Ephesus, "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love" (Revelation 3:4). These words are designed to capture our attention! Your move. Be encouraged!