Being revealed

"The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed."
Romans 8:19 NIV

The Bible does not teach us how to become like Jesus. The Bible teaches that Jesus lives in us so that He can be revealed in us. There is a huge difference between the two, and unless you understand that Christlikeness is not a goal to be achieved, but a gift to be experienced, you will miss genuine Christianity.

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For much of my life, I was taught that my goal should be “Christlikeness.” The process, as I was taught, went something like this: I get a picture of Jesus through His word, measure myself against it, and find “areas I need to work on.” Interestingly enough, I was assured that I would never actually reach this goal, but that this was the way it was intended to be.

As ludicrous as that seems to me now, like many people I know, I bought into that system for many years of my Christian life. I worked to be more Christlike through Bible study, prayer, Church involvement, ministry projects, etc. I even chose full-time ministry as a means to keep myself focused on becoming more Christlike, but in the end, I was no more Christlike than when I began.

In fact, as an adult, I have often looked back on my High School years as being the most effective time in my Christian life…the time when I was most Christlike was the few years immediately following a re-dedication of my life to God as a ninth grader. The truth is, the time in my life during which Christianity worked best for me was before I had any opportunity to “become Christlike.” Why? Because that’s the way it works.

The Bible does not teach us how to become like Jesus. The Bible teaches that Jesus lives in us so that He can be revealed in us. There is a huge difference between the two, and unless you understand that Christlikeness is not a goal to be achieved, but a gift to be experienced, you will miss genuine Christianity.

True Christianity is a bit like being a superhero. The process of Christian maturity is not about becoming something we are not, but being revealed for who we actually are. Like Peter Parker, Clark Kent, or one of my new favorites, David Dunn in M Night Shyamalan’s “Unbreakable,” the difficulty is not in acquiring anything; these things are gifts. Peter Parker was bitten by the spider; Clark Kent and David Dunn were just born with their powers. Becoming wasn’t the issue. The issue was being revealed for who and what they were.

As believers in Jesus, we are the same way. God re-made us into who we are. He gave us gifts we could never develop on our own, and power we could never acquire by merit or effort. The challenge for us is to acknowledge the incredible gifts we have been given, allow them to be manifested in our lives, and then perhaps learn to use them better. Becoming Christlike is a false goal. We don't need to become anything. We need to be revealed.