The Purpose Driven Life(50)
God wants you to develop the kind of character described in the beatitudes of Jesus,7 the fruit of the Spirit,8 Paul’s great chapter on love,9 and Peter’s list of the characteristics of an effective and productive life.10 Every time you forget that character is one of God’s purposes for your life, you will become frustrated by your circumstances. You’ll wonder, “Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time?” One answer is that life is supposed to be difficult! It’s what enables us to grow. Remember, earth is not heaven!
Many Christians misinterpret Jesus’ promise of the “abundant life”11 to mean perfect health, a comfortable lifestyle, constant happiness, full realization of your dreams, and instant relief from problems through faith and prayer. In a word, they expect the Christian life to be easy. They expect heaven on earth.
This self-absorbed perspective treats God as a genie who simply exists to serve you in your selfish pursuit of personal fulfillment. But God is not your servant, and if you fall for the idea that life is supposed to be easy, either you will become severely disillusioned or you will live in denial of reality.
Never forget that life is not about you! You exist for God’s purposes, not vice versa. Why would God provide heaven on earth when he’s planned the real thing for you in eternity? God gives us our time on earth to build and strengthen our character for heaven.
GOD’S SPIRIT WORKING IN YOU
It is the Holy Spirit’s job to produce Christlike character in you. The Bible says, “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.”12 This process of changing us to be more like Jesus is called sanctification, and it is the third purpose of your life on earth.
You cannot reproduce the character of Jesus on your own strength. New Year’s resolutions, willpower, and best intentions are not enough. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to make the changes God wants to make in our lives. The Bible says, “God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.”13
DAY TWENTY-TWO: CREATED TO BECOME LIKE CHRIST
Mention “the power of the Holy Spirit,” and many people think of miraculous demonstrations and intense emotions. But most of the time the Holy Spirit’s power is released in your life in quiet, unassuming ways that you aren’t even aware of or can’t feel. He often nudges us with “a gentle whisper.”14
Christlikeness is not produced by imitation, but by inhabitation. We allow Christ to live through us. “For this is the secret: Christ lives in you.”15 How does this happen in real life? Through the choices we make. We choose to do the right thing in situations and then trust God’s Spirit to give us his power, love, faith, and wisdom to do it. Since God’s Spirit lives inside of us, these things are always available for the asking.
We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s work. Through-out the Bible we see an important truth illustrated over and over: The Holy Spirit releases his power the moment you take a step of faith. When Joshua was faced with an impassible barrier, the floodwaters of the Jordan River receded only after the leaders stepped into the rushing current in obedience and faith.16 Obedience unlocks God’s power.
God waits for you to act first. Don’t wait to feel powerful or confident. Move ahead in your weakness, doing the right thing in spite of your fears and feelings. This is how you cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and it is how your character develops.
The Bible compares spiritual growth to a seed, a building, and a child growing up. Each metaphor requires active participation: Seeds must be planted and cultivated, buildings must be built—they don’t just appear—and children must eat and exercise to grow.
While effort has nothing to do with your salvation, it has much to do with your spiritual growth. At least eight times in the New Testament we are told to “make every effort”17 in our growth toward becoming like Jesus. You don’t just sit around and wait for it to happen.
Paul explains in Ephesians 4:22–24 our three responsibilities in becoming like Christ. First, we must choose to let go of old ways of acting. “Everything…connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it!”18
Your character is essentially the sum of your habits.
Second, we must change the way we think. “Let the Spirit change your way of thinking.”19 The Bible says we are “transformed” by the renewing of our minds.20 The Greek word for transformed, metamorphosis (used in Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18), is used today to describe the amazing change a caterpillar goes through in becoming a butterfly. It is a beautiful picture of what happens to us spiritually when we allow God to direct our thoughts: We are changed from the inside out, we become more beautiful, and we are set free to soar to new heights.