Its very important for Christians to understand what God is trying to accomplish in us. Many believers are amazed to learn that God’s purpose for their lives is to conform them into the image of Jesus! God’s goal is to use all things in our lives to help us think like Jesus, act like Jesus and see life and the world as Jesus sees it (See Romans 8:28-29).
Every human being has the power to make choices from their free will. It is through the choices we make that God is able to shape the development of our character and move it toward replicating the character of Jesus. I don’t think most believers understand that God wants them to be conformed to Christs character and that such conformation is possible in this earthly life. While its probably true that we will always fall short of attaining the perfection of Christ in this life, the Apostle Paul urges us to press on toward that goal.
The choice God wants us to make in our earthly affairs is to choose to love as Christ loved. This is where it gets tough because choosing to love means that we choose to be patient when we don’t want to be. We choose to be kind when we don’t feel like being kind. We choose to forgive when we really want to hold a grudge. We choose not to seek for ourselves when we are fearful of not getting what we think we need and want. We choose not to be angry when we are wronged. And we choose not to be fearful when we are threatened (See 1 Cor 13).
For genuine believers who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, it is possible to grow into this kind of character and that same character is built by the choices we make out of our own free will.
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