ADVICE FOR LIFE
“. . .Put on the new self – created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:24 TLV)
Have you considered what pleases the Lord Jesus?
The answer is: His own likeness. Jesus Christ desires that we become like Him. The question is easy to ask, but the answer is difficult to accomplish. Our Lord desires that we bear His image in defining Christian character – this is our supreme obligation as disciples of Jesus Christ.
How are you and I to demonstrate this in our daily lives? Simply put, we can say: (a) Bring self-will under subordination; (b) Make a practice of conscious obedience to the divine will. In the teachings of the apostles, Christlikeness is a recurring theme. (1John 3:2; Romans 8:29; 2 Peter 1:4) The Lord is a great example of these principles to us. Therefore, they offer us adequate direction for our lives. So, this gives us the confidence to live a godly life in this ungodly world of ours. Jesus was the role model for the first century disciples and then commanded them: “you should do just as I have done for you.” (John 13:15)
What a gift – our spiritual lives are not restricted by our past blunders, unchangeable attitudes and actions. The apostle, writing to the church in Ephesus, stated the believers there were once “darkened in their understanding and their minds were closed to God.” (Ephesians 4:18) He also observed their hearts were hardened and they turned themselves to every kind of impurity and greed. Then he urged them to seek the truth in Yeshua by laying aside their old self corrupted by deceitful desires, and be renewed in the Spirit, and put on the new self created to be like our God in righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:21-23 TLV)
Our new self desires to live a life pleasing to the Lord, worthy of our calling. It allows us to yield to the way of our Savior. The Lords words, “. . .Unless you are converted and become like children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 18:3) refer to our initial conversion. But we must aim to be continuously converted each day of our walk with God. So, for just a bit of advice, our natural life must not rule; but God must rule in us.