Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.Perhaps some of you remember Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story about the great stone face.
A little lad lived in a village where there was a mountain with a rock formation which they called the great stone face. The people had a legend that someday someone would come to the village who would look like the great stone face. He would do wonderful things for the village and be a means of great blessing. That story really took hold of the lad. During his lifetime he would gaze at the great stone face at every opportunity that he had, and he would dream of the time someone looking like the great stone face would come to the village.
Years passed and as time went by, he became a young man, then an old man. He was tottering down the street one day when someone looked up and saw him coming and shouted, “He has come. The one who looks like the great stone face is here.” This man had looked at the great stone face for so long that now he bore its image.
Do you want to be Christlike? Then spend time looking at Jesus.
So, do we want to be Christlike? Do we spend enough time with Jesus? Reading the word of God, praying, praising, not only Jesus but the Father, who sent His Son, to pay the price for our sins?
When we were born, we were taken hostage by the sin of Adam and Eve. They were made as pure human beings, but when Satan whispered in Eve’s ear she listened and decided he had a great idea. She, and Adam, could be like God, who knew so much. Much good it did them, because they were told not to eat the fruit of this particular tree, they had committed the sin which was passed to all following generations.
Because of this sin we are all at risk of the whispers of Satan, at risk of wanting things which are not good for us. Instead of studying the word of God and dressing ourselves with the armour of God we leave ourselves open to acting on our sinful nature. We see people with things we don’t have but would like, so we begin to envy those people, to the point sometimes where we just have to have it. Maybe we see others doing thing which they should not or going places we should stay far away from and desire these things.
This means that instead of being content with what we already have, we set out to acquire all the things we would like to own. Perhaps to the detriment of family or friends. Some people finish up with a lot of things (or money) but no-one to share it with and Jesus is not impressed by whatever wealth or possessions we have. If we do not spend time developing the likeness of Jesus, it will all be as good as nothing.
Let’s be like Nathaniel Hawthorne and look to the image of Jesus until we even start to look like Him. Soak ourselves in God’s word until we are close to drowning in His love.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you sacrificed Yourself to buy our freedom from the sin we have been plagued by, since the fall of Adam and Eve. We can never repay You in any way for the blood You shed on that horrifying day when You were crucified by men who should have known better. Please help us to give ourselves totally to You in service, to read scripture, to pray for all who follow You and to all those with whom we should be sharing the gospel. Bless also those Jews who are still denying You as the Messiah, let them find the truth of Father Son and Spirit, we ask in Your own blessed name, amen.
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