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It’s been said, that you and I as Christians, may be the only likeness of Jesus that people will see.
This may be a scary truth for some of us. Because we often struggle though with feeling like we aren’t measuring up. We might say, “I’m not as spiritual as I should be. I’m not as close to God as I could be. I’m not as mature as a Christian as I should be. I still struggle. Look at everyone else. They seem to have it all together. I wish I was as spiritual as they are.” Perhaps someone else is a better reflection of Christ.
We often have that person in mind that seems so godly. They seem to have it all together. They are so in love with Jesus. They exude spiritual maturity. We look at them, we watch them and we want to be like them. Meanwhile, we are over here messing up, falling, and are frustrated that we aren’t further along than we should be. We are disappointed we aren’t more like that person.
On the other hand, we sometimes think about that one person who seems like they are less spiritual than we are. You know, that guy, that girl who seems to keep messing up. And when we think about them, well, you know, spiritually speaking, we look pretty good! Well, at least I’m not like him!
But the problem with this is that we are using the wrong measuring stick. Comparison to one another is the measuring stick of the world.
A little boy came to his mother one day and said, “Mom, guess what! I’m 8 feet 4 inches tall!” His mother checked it out and realized that he was using a 6 inch ruler; he was actually 4 feet and 2 inches tall. This describes us! When we are measuring our spiritual maturity by comparison, we are using the wrong measuring stick.
In Ephesians 4:12 Paul reveals what will be the final standard by which we will ultimately be measured. It is the measuring stick of Christ. “…until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
This verse teaches us that God is at work in our lives bringing us to maturity in our faith. As you surrender your life to God, he is bringing you to maturity in Christ, so that you will be like Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews said we are to “fix our eyes on Jesus.” The more you gaze at Christ Jesus, the clearer your focus will be on what it means to be like Jesus. He is the measurement of our spiritual maturity.
You cannot know Jesus Christ until you follow him. You will never know him without that. Several of the disciples were acquainted with Jesus before they became his disciples, that is obvious from the Gospels, but they never knew him until they left everything and followed him.
I love this quote - “It is not what men eat, but what they digest that makes them strong. It’s not what we gain, but what we save that makes us rich. It’s not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned. It’s not what we preach or pray, but what we practice and believe that makes us Christian.” I would add, “It’s not only what we believe, but what we obey that brings us to maturity in Christ.”
Today’s Challenge: In your quiet time or devotional time today, grab a sheet of paper and begin to write down the areas of your life that you need to surrender to God. Identify those areas where you want to be more like Jesus. I’m sure the Holy Spirit has already spoken to you about some of these areas of your life. I know He has in mine. Commit this list to God in prayer and let the transformation begin.
