Yesterday I ended by referring to First Kings 7:37 where, in describing the furnishings Huram made for the Temple, it says of the water carts, “All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold” (NLT). I concluded by, among other passages, quoting Genesis 5:1b: “When God created human beings, He made them to be like Himself.”
The entirety of humankind was “made to be like” God. But what happened? Sin. Sin corrupted God’s perfect creation. And we don’t have to look around very much to see how much evil continues today.
No one sins without it affecting other people, which is why sometimes godly people are hurt by inexplicably bad things. On the other hand, bad personal choices can hurt people. “High mileage” lifestyles can make a person old in a hurry. Wrong behavior or decisions can end a marriage or destroy a career.
The point is, we’re born with a clean slate and our lives are then shaped by a combination of nurture and nature until we reach the point that we understand for ourselves the importance of right and wrong. It’s then that we either choose to follow Christ or reject Him.
And for those of us who choose Christ, the decisions aren’t over. Daily and even moment by moment we make choices that determine whether or not we honor our Lord and act as His hands and feet to those around us. When we choose to think and act in ways that honor Him, we become more and more like Him.
Yes, we’re all “created… to be like” God, but each of us must make a personal choice to make Christlikeness his goal. After all, the only way to achieve a goal is to set one. Is Christlikeness your daily desire?
Copyright © 2013
Judy Woodward Bates
No comments:
Post a Comment