#28 MOVING TOWARD CHRIST 8-24-26
The Christian life is a life of movement. We are never meant to remain where we started. We are moving toward Christ, becoming more like Christ, and learning to live with Christ at the center of everything. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The closer we come to Christ, the more Christ should be seen in us.
INTERNALIZING CHRIST
Before Christ can be reflected through our lives, Christ must be received into our hearts. His Word must move from the pages of Scripture into the principles of our lives. We do not merely read what Jesus said. We allow His words to become part of who we are. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16).
Internalizing Christ means allowing His truth to shape our thinking, His presence to shape our attitudes, His love to shape our hearts, and His commands to shape our conduct. We stop asking merely, “What does the Bible say?” and begin asking, “How should what the Bible says change me?” Truth becomes character when it is internalized.
IDENTIFYING WITH CHRIST
Once Christ’s truth is dwelling within us, we begin to identify ourselves with Him. We no longer want our identity to be built primarily upon our occupation, reputation, possessions, accomplishments, or failures. Our deepest identity is found in belonging to Jesus.
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). To identify with Christ means that His people become our people, His mission becomes our mission, and His kingdom becomes our priority. We want to be known as someone who belongs to Jesus.
This identification also means accepting the cost of following Him. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). We cannot truly identify with Christ while refusing to follow Christ.
IMITATING CHRIST
Finally, what we internalize and identify with should become what we imitate. Paul told the Corinthians, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Christianity is not merely believing certain things about Jesus. It is learning to walk as Jesus walked.
We imitate His compassion toward the hurting. We imitate His humility toward others. We imitate His patience with people. We imitate His courage in confronting sin. We imitate His obedience to the Father. We imitate His willingness to serve rather than be served.
The goal is not simply to know more about Christ. The goal is to become more like Christ.
Internalizing gives us His truth. Identifying gives us His identity. Imitating gives us His character.
That is what it means to move toward Christ. We take His Word into our hearts, we take our place with Him, and then we take His character into the world.
The closer we get to Jesus, the less people should see merely what we used to be and the more they should see Christ living through us.
Move toward Christ today. Internalize His Word. Identify with His cross. Imitate His life.
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Lord Jesus, draw me closer to You. Let Your Word dwell deeply within me. Let my identity be found in You, and let my life increasingly resemble Yours. Teach me to think as You think, love as You love, serve as You serve, and walk as You walked. May people see less of me and more of You. Amen.
BDD
