Becoming Like Jesus

February 15, 2023

Whenever

we go through tough times, we are tempted to ask, “Why? Why me? Why is

this happening?” Even, “Why is God allowing this?” or “If God wants me

to be happy, why is his happening?”

Lots

of people think God’s number one purpose is for us to be happy. I am

sorry if I am the first person to tell you, but it’s not.

People

say things like, “God just wants me to be happy.” Have you ever heard

anyone say that? Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God’s purpose is

to make you happy.

God has a far higher purpose for our lives than making us feel happy.  

God’s number one purpose for your life is that you become like Jesus Christ.  

We

were created to become like Christ. God wants to make you like his Son.

When you understand this everything in life will make more sense. The

sooner we come this realization the better for us. Life is a lot less

frustrating once you realize everything you face in life is not designed

to make you happy.

Romans 8:29 “For

God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his

Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and

sisters."

Ephesians 4:15 “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ," 

Colossians 1:15 “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.”

This

isn’t new. This truth goes all the way back to creation. When God

decided to make the first human being this is what he said:

Gen 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.”  

That

has always been God’s plan. This has always been God’s purpose. God

wants to make us like himself. Do not misunderstand me. You will never

be a god. But God wants you to become like him.  

In

America we have a phrase “Like father, like son.” God wants you to

become like him.  The Bible says that we are meant to become like Christ

in character. So, what does it mean to become like Jesus? The Bible

calls it the fruit of the Spirit. There are nine qualities:

Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.  

This

is a perfect picture of Jesus. This is the perfect picture of what God

wants us to be.  God wants our life to be filled with love. And he wants

our life to be filled with joy and peace. And he wants our life to be

filled with patience. This is what it means to become like Christ. So

how does God make us like Christ? This is called sanctification.

Sanctification

is just a big word that means to become like Jesus. The way God

produces the fruit of the Spirit in your life is by putting you in the

exact opposite situation.  

For

instance, love. How does God teach me to be loving? It’s easy to love

people who are like you. It’s easy to love people who love you. It’s

easy to love people who are lovely. If God is going to teach you real

love, he’s going to put you around people who are hard to love. That’s

how you learn love. Anybody can love people who will love you back. But

Jesus in the Bible says, “I want you to even love your enemies.”  

How

does God teach us peace? In times of stress and conflict. It’s easy to

be peaceful when everything goes your way. But if you’re going to become

a man or woman of peace, God will have to put you in times of conflict. 

How

about patience? Where do we learn to be patient? By being forced to

wait.  When we wait in lines. When we wait for an answer to prayer. God

is teaching us patience.  

He’s making us more like Christ.