Developing Christlikeness

I have been reflecting on this subject of developing Christlikeness lately.  Not sure why, but I decided to write at least one of my thoughts or reflections out.

I’ll start with this.  We are told as believers that we are to become “like Christ” or as it says here to “grow up in all aspects”, which implies a process of maturation.

Eph 4:15-16 – But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.  NASU

There are other verses that speak to this, but this one will do.  The big question is, “How do I grow up in my Christian faith and become like Christ?”

In one of my reflections I ran across these two well known sets of verses that I had never put together before, two from 1 John 4 and the description of love in 1 Cor 13:

1 John 4:8 – The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  NASU

1 John 4:16 – We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  NASU

1 Cor 13:4-8 – Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.  NASU

When we do a simple substitution of “God” for “love” as the object in the 1 Corinthians verses we get a list of attributes that we can work on to develop Christlikeness.  In the following list I am going to use “Christ” instead of “God” as the object, because Christ is God.

• Christ is patient.
• Christ is kind.
• Christ is not jealous.
• Christ does not brag.
• Christ is not arrogant.
• Christ does not act unbecomingly.
• Christ does not seek His own.
• Christ is not provoked.
• Christ does not take into account a wrong suffered.
• Christ does not rejoice in unrighteousness.
• Christ does rejoice with truth.
• Christ bears all things.
• Christ believes all things.
• Christ hopes all things.
• Christ endures all things.
• Christ never fails.

So there we have it, a list of sixteen things to work on!

How well are you doing on these 16 attributes?  Please don’t self-assess, instead go to three godly people who will be mercifully honest with you and ask them how they think you are doing.  Ask them to answer, not in absolute terms, but more in relative terms, as in relative to how you used to be.  Are these things in you getting better?

As is said in recovery groups, “Progress not Perfection!

In the next blog, I will write a descriptive paragraph or so on each of these items for those that want to work on the 16 attributes.