Sanctification is a process (becoming more like Jesus in our soul-the mind, will, emotions).
I have a friend who believes there is no God. Interesting relationship, eh? I love God deeply. I care about my friend too. We have had some interesting dialogue about Christianity. Sharing some with you.
Only Jesus perfectly represented the Father in human form. I have met Christians who claim no flaws, yet those around them can testify this is so false.
We never know when we meet someone how close their walk is with Jesus, how much of their life is submitted to Him, their heart, their experiences. Therefore it is best to look to Jesus to know what the Father is like.
The church has not arrived at reflecting Him with no flaws (this includes me). We are all in process-those who abide in Him going from glory to glory. And there are some who do not abide and can behave just like the devil. Pray for them and know becoming like Jesus in character is a process, a journey. It requires abiding and intimacy with Him (John 15:4-5). Grace baby grace…
Being a “Christian” is hard. Following and being with Jesus is so much easier. “Christian” can come with labels, ideas, boxes, traditions of man, cultural things, and conditions I do not always meet.
Jesus accepts me through my faith and relationship in Him. He did not give me 10,000 firery hoops to jump through. He did not give me a packet that said, “Look this way, sound this way, go to this church, you must be married-have lots of children, homeschool them, be quiet, you have too much passion-dial that down, sing softer, you vote this way, and no you cannot do anything except children’s ministry.”
I am not against marriage, children, or children’s ministry. I am making a point that following Jesus is about relationship with Jesus-not the things people call “Christian”.
Jesus never tried to force me into anything. He came and loved. He came and He forgave. He comes and reveals truth. He leads in sacrificial love and gently. He said, “Come as you are. Believe in Me. Lay your past mishaps before Me. Let Me change you from the inside out.”
Yes, there are guidelines outlined in His word. He does not try to shame or guilt me into doing them. He loves so deeply and models how His way leads to tremendous blessing. You fall in love with Jesus, He loves you back intensely, then you realize He only wants the very best for you and He is pointing to what brings life-so you yield out of love. Sometimes you do not wish to or feel like it, but love motivates you to keep on following.
Jesus does not spend each day telling me how awful I am, criticizing my weaknesses, looking at my past, nor trying to mold me into cookie cutter image of Suzy Super Christian. He and the Holy Spirit continually reveal who they are, who the Father is and their righteousness, holiness, and virtues.
I am changing by His love, by being with Him, through intimacy, and submitting to Him. And I am not like everyone else. He never told me to be like anyone else. He repeats over and over, “Look at Me.” As I behold Him I am changing into who He created me to be, His idea, His workmanship, and one to reflect His heart.
So in summary, look at Jesus. Stay connected to Jesus. By no other name can anyone be saved (Acts 4:12). Sanctification is a process so give yourself and others lots of love, compassion, mercy, and grace. The world is challenging enough. We do not need more people beating us up for our imperfections. Only God is perfect. Everyone else is a WIP-work in progress. May we continually abide in Him and bear good fruit. 🍑🍐🍇🍏🍌🍎