To Be Like Him We Must Know Him
“Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.”
A great Christian hymn we sing often expressing our deep, enduring desire to be like Jesus. However, in my experience, few understand what it means to be like Christ or live life in such a way that they are more like Him today than they were yesterday. The fact is that many are not growing in the likeness of the Lord nor will they ever be able to because they really do not know Him.
Sure, we have passing familiarity with who He is but we do not “know” Him. It’s the difference between an acquaintance and a true friend. For far to many Jesus is just an acquaintance. Certainly all the nations of the earth have been blessed in Abraham (Genesis 18:18) through Jesus and the time has come that all know Him, from the least to the greatest (Hebrews 8:11). We know this is true because you cannot go anywhere in this world without encountering people who know the name of Jesus and who have some passing knowledge of Him.
But we will never be like Him until we come to know Him like Paul who wrote, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Philippians 3:10). Paul spent three years in Arabia garnering an intimate knowledge of Jesus (Galatians 1:17-18). Here are some things about Jesus that we need to know so that we can know Him like Paul did and be more like Him every day!
- Jesus ALWAYS did the things that pleased the Father (John 8:29). Can we say this? Can we say that we always do the things that are pleasing unto the Father? To many see the futility in the notion that this can be a reality so they choose to please themselves instead of God and are never comforted to the image of His dear Son (Romans 8:29).
- There was no guile found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). No deceit, no ugly retort to the mocking and criticism. How do we respond to others and their nastiness? Not like Christ? “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).
- He was perfect. Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Many are quick to point out that the Greek word here means “complete” and not “perfect” in a sinless kind of way that we might think of God and perfection. To that my response is, “Yea, and?” Are we complete? 2 Timothy 3:17 says that the Word of God is able to make us perfect/complete.
- He was obedient. Philippians 2:8 says of Christ that, “being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. We too need to be obedient to the Father is we are going to be like His Son. The Hebrew writer said through His obedience Jesus became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:8-9). Have you been and are you obedient?
- He is faithful (1 Thessalonians 5:24). As Christians faithfulness is based upon our continual walk in the footsteps of Jesus. His blood continues to cleanse our sins as we strive each day to be more like Him (1 John 1:7). It is a salvation issue (Revelation 2:10).
John, the beloved disciple of Jesus said “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4). Do you know Him well enough to be like Him? The refrain of our hymn says:
“Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.”
Will we let Him do this to us? Will we know Him so as to be like Him? Be obedient and be faithful!