Today's Choices Shape Your Tomorrow

Church Family:
Our actions and attitudes today often influence who we become tomorrow. If someone chooses to be mean today—whether by being unkind in their words or actions—that behavior can start to shape their character. Every day, we face moral choices, one decision at a time. Some decisions are made thoughtfully, others on the spot. We choose to forgive or resent. We decide whether to be honest or deceitful, to be critical or to be gracious. We choose to indulge our lusts or resist temptation. We choose to respond to others with kindness, compassion, and patience, or we ignore them so that we can pursue our own interests. These moment-by-moment choices, cultivate and establish our character over time. Our choices today shape who we are tomorrow.

Being a Christian means that you have committed your life to becoming more like Jesus Christ in action and attitude every day. This is your commitment as a Christian: being conformed to the image of God not the world. This is called sanctification or to put it another way, “holification,” being made holy.

Knowing how God makes you more like Jesus brings great understanding and peace in the daily events and turmoil of your life. How does sanctification work? First, know that being made holy is not simply devotion to a set of rules. Sanctification is conformity to the character of God—nothing more, nothing less. As a Christian, God has predestined you to be conformed to the likeness of His Son (Rom. 8:29), so He sends His Holy Spirit to transform you into Christ’s likeness (2 Cor. 3:18). The Holy Spirit is the only One who molds you into the likeness of Christ (Heb. 13:20-21; 1 Thes. 5:23). Only God can change your heart to love righteousness and hate wickedness like Jesus (Heb. 1:9). This is more than just changing your conduct or conforming to a set of rules. It is a complete transformation of your heart, something only the Holy Spirit can do.

But, sanctification is not only the work of God. The second part of sanctification is knowing that you have responsibility in becoming more like Christ. God has given you a mind, heart, and will that are called to respond to His work in you, so that you cooperate with His Spirit in the process of transforming you into the likeness of Christ. God intends for you to understand His will with your mind by reading His Word, then be joyfully eager to obey His will with all your heart, and then follow through with choices of obedience. You are called to make every effort to be holy (Heb. 12:14). You are to train yourself to be godly (1 Tim. 4:7). You are to put to death the evidences of your sinful nature and clothe yourself with the virtue of godly character (Col. 3:5; Col. 3:12). The path to daily holiness is one of dependence on God’s Spirit working in your life while being joyfully obedient.

When the Holy Spirit is actively making you more like Jesus and you respond with joyful obedience, you have a greater and greater desire to know God. Your love for God grows more and more immense. You see life, God, yourself, and others from His perspective. You enjoy a greater sacrificial love for people. How other people are doing matters increasingly to you, and you think of ways to help them. When you talk, your words communicate more wisdom and more joy. You discover how to handle your money, your relationships, your marriage, your job like Jesus Christ. You become a better friend and a family member. You bring who God really is into each moment. You have greater clarity and hope in world events. You understand your life’s purpose and are resilient in fulfilling that purpose. You see God’s blessings and are thankful. You see and endure hardships, failure, disappointment, illness, and death from God’s eternal perspective, not an earthly one. Progressive sanctification, or becoming more like Christ, influences all areas of your life. There is nothing more extensively life-impacting than Jesus making you more like Himself.

See you Sunday, being made more like Jesus: Steve