We make Jesus visible in our lives through the way we live and serve; people see Him when they interact with us. Indeed, there is a strong connection between Christ-likeness and mission: Christ-likeness leads to mission, and mission is meaningless without Christ-likeness.
God works both in us and through us—it is because He works in us that He is also able to work through us.
When Christ dwells in us, He is incarnated in our lives—in our thoughts, attitudes, actions, words, and relationships. As we continue to approach Him regularly, obey Him, learn from Him, and imitate Him in action and attitude, our relationship with Him will grow, and we will begin to resemble Him.
This is exactly what God wants, for us to be “conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29) and “transformed into his image” (2 Corinthians 3:18). One day, when Jesus returns, “we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2).
When we are transformed into Christ’s likeness, it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20). So our will becomes His will, our hearts beat in rhythm with His, our minds think His thoughts, our mouths speak His words, our hands perform His actions, and our feet go where He directs. He becomes visible in our lives. We do not become passive automatons in this process, however—in a mysterious way, we will become united with Him such that He manifests in our lives without us losing our individuality.
In his article “How Does a Disciple Live?”, philosopher and writer Dallas Willard lists three things that happen when Jesus is incarnated in us:
First, “I am learning to do the things which Jesus explicitly said to do.”
Second, “I am learning to conduct the usual activities of life—in home, school, community, business and government—in the character and power of Christ.”
And third, “I am learning to exercise the power of the kingdom—of Christ in his Word and Spirit—to minister good and defeat evil in all of the connections of earthly existence.”
When Christ lives in us, we will learn to do what He wants, we will reflect His character in all our actions and relationships, and we will fulfil His mission by extending His ministry and kingdom through our lives.
Consider this:
Jesus continues His ministry through us today. In what specific ways will you demonstrate the presence and character of Christ in your life?
Excerpted and adapted from Finding Rest For The Soul by Robert Solomon. © 2016 by Robert Solomon. Used by permission of Discovery House. All rights reserved.
