BLESSINGS

1- IMITATING CHRIST
John 8:12 (NIV)
12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

As disciples of our Lord Jesus, we, who have formerly indulged in many choices have chosen to become apprentices to our Master in order to learn the ways of eternal life, but do we really understand what this means? Jesus has called us to come out of the darkness and be bathed in the light of His teaching. For us to understand, we must be freed from the blindness common to us all allow our minds to be enlightened by the truths of God and commit to becoming obedient to Jesus’ commands. We must seriously choose the way of prayer, Scripture study and fellowship with a faith community if we are to receive understanding concerning the necessity of the Holy Spirit, which brings clarity to God’s will. This is the path of divine enlightenment for the disciple who wants to receive understanding concerning the ways of God. Knowing Jesus as the way, truth and life we so desperately need is critical for recognizing the vain pursuits of mankind. This requires us to pursue the truth of God above all human opinion and advice.
We must also recognize that knowing God’s truth is not enough to make us holy, that is, set apart for Godly service. We must commit to reflecting the image of Jesus by living a life devoted to loving and forgiving others. Knowing the whole Bible and all principles of theology is useless unless we show others the grace and love of God. Our life is doomed to consuming the vanity of mankind unless we become devoted to the ways of Jesus and to the production of good spiritual fruit.<br>
Scripture is full of Godly wisdom that reveals our purpose in life, which is to seek the kingdom of God above all other pursuits. We are to live a life pleasing to our Creator, which requires us to take the blinders from our eyes and know well the ways of sin. We must come to recognize the many unprofitable things we chase without God’s guidance. For example, it is vanity for us to put our trust in riches that perish or to pursue honor to satisfy our sinful pride. It is vanity to give in to our lusts and allow them to guide us to temporal pleasures that bring severe consequences and regret. It is vanity to live a greedy life hoarding all for self while showing no concern for the needs of others. It is vanity to manipulate others for self-satisfaction and never learn the true meaning of love found only by abiding in God, our source of life and eternal joy. If we claim to be followers of Jesus, shouldn’t we allow His counsel to guide us from our vain and sinful ways to heavenly treasures?
Dear disciple, isn’t it time for us to become resolute in our loyalty to God, turn our hearts from the vanities of the world and become imitators of our Lord Jesus? Shouldn’t we commit ourselves to learning and practicing our Savior’s ways and let our words and deeds bring glory to our God? Isn’t it time for us to fully receive the grace of God that soothes our troubled minds and strengthens us against the temptation to satisfy our selfish passions? Let us resolve to abide in our God and know divine love and forgiveness. Let us allow our God to heal our guilty conscience with the Holy Spirit’s loving touch and change our sin-stained lives into ones as white as snow.