How to Become Like Christ II: Guest Blog by James Burdette

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How do I become like Christ? This question asked from a sincere heart is the most dangerous question a believer can ask. It is dangerous because the answer threatens all that we love other than God. One can study the gospels in the New Testament and try to piece together a picture of who Christ was and what he did and then do our best to mimic those actions. But my guess is that one would end up frustrated and unsuccessful. That is because becoming like Christ isn't primarily concerned with doing what he did, although someone who has become like Christ may do many of the things he did, I believe that becoming like Christ is primarily about loving who He loved.

When asked what the first commandement was by a scribe (a community religious leader) Christ replied, "'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one; you shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Mark 12:29-31).

I believe that to become like Christ you must first love God with all of your emotions, thoughts, and ability. To love God like this is the greatest thing anyone of us can do with our very brief lives. Can you imagine a life spent loving God with every action, thought, word and motive? That is what Christ did. His ministry on this earth and his execution outside of Jerusalem were fueled by a deep love for his Father and his people.

Which brings us to the next observation; when we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we will naturally love others as we should. When we love God, we learn more about him and as a result love the people and the things which he loves. To become like Christ we must love God. How can we love God? Seek him in his word and in prayer. Hebrews 11:6 assures us that when we earnestly seek God he rewards us. Let's step forward towards becoming like Christ together and love God with all of our ability!