“We Shall Be Like Him”
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been make 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
In 1991 Gatorade® ran its first “Be like Mike” commercial. At that time Michael Jordan was the most recognized athlete in the world. Sports announcers couldn’t say enough about the magic he created on the basketball court. Kids worldwide dreamed of becoming the next Michael Jordan.
The commercial implied that if you drank Gatorade® like Jordan did, you would “be like Mike.” Sales sky-rocketed. My son was one of many kids who started guzzling Gatorade®. But he quickly learned that being “like Mike” required much more than drinking his preferred beverage. It required physical attributes and mental discipline that my son just didn’t have. Frustrated, he discarded the desire to “be like Mike.”
As Christians, we have a different desire: be like Jesus. Quite frankly, I’ve as little hope of realizing that goal as my son had of being like Michael Jordan. I don’t have the physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual attributes to attain that status. Not on my own.
But the Bible tells me how that dream becomes a reality—we become like Jesus through Jesus. Forty different verses in the New Testament tell us what is possible through Christ, including victory over sin (1 Corinthians 15:56-57).
The Greek word homois, translated “like” in 1 John 3:2, literally means “resemble.” Think of an artist who meticulously creates a self-portrait. Because he knows himself better than anyone, he is able to capture the nuances of his personality and character in the portrait that no one else could
It’s never a matter of what we are able to do; it’s what we allow Jesus Christ, the Master Artist, to do through us and in us. For us, it’s a hands-off process rather than a hands-on project. And that’s bound to be painful, especially since most of us tend to be do-it-yourselfers.
Nevertheless, the Bible guarantees a successful outcome. What will Jesus have to do to effect that transformation in me? I don’t know. But I’m grateful that He isn’t going to give up on me until I am “like Jesus.” He’s not going to give up on any of us.
DIG DEEPER:
What is possible through Christ? Read these encouraging verses: Romans 8:1-2, Romans 8:35-37, Ephesians 2:4-7 and Ephesians 2:18.
Read Philippians 4:11-13. Paul was confined in a Roman prison when he wrote these words. What can Christ strengthen you to do today?
Read 1 Corinthians 15:56-58. Since we have victory over sin through Jesus, what should we be doing?
Denise K. Loock