Who is it you want to be the most like? Do you want to be a reflection of your Dad or your Mom or maybe a movie star or a popular singer or somebody else you know?
If you are a Christian your answer should be the Lord. Personally that is who I want to imitate. It seemed like when I was a young believer the more I tried the harder it got. It seemed like I would say something or do something that wouldn’t honor God and I would have to repent for it. I may not be alone in this situation.
The Word says, “The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Do you ever struggle with doing the things you hate doing and the things you want to do you don’t do? Do you beat yourself up when that happens or do you have a pity party? It gets very frustrating when you want to honor God in everything you do and say, and you fail Him.
I want to encourage you with what Paul wrote about this situation, Paul had the same struggle and this is what he wrote about it. In Romans 7:14-25 in the New Living Translation Bible Paul said, “The law is good then. The trouble is not with the law but with me, because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master. I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right but I don’t do it. Instead I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can’t help myself because it is sin that lives inside me that makes me do these evil things. I know that I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn I can’t make myself do right. I want to but I can’t. When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing it the sin with in me is doing it. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”
When you are a new Christian, many times you get so excited about your new found faith that you are ready to take on the world for Christ. The problem is we are not mature enough for that yet, we need to grow in the Lord. We need to learn to crawl, then walk, then run. In our excitement in wanting to share our experience we can say the wrong things or act the wrong way and instead of helping someone we end up offending the person then we feel horrible.
As you allow yourself to grow you will honor the Lord more and more and resisting sin will become easier. As you feed on the Spirit you will overcome the flesh, get into the Word and spend time in prayer you will start looking and acting like your heavenly Father. You have conformed to the world for a long time, but you will start being transformed by the renewing of your mind. The more time you spend with the Lord and Bible study and prayer the more you will reflect the one you love. Then you will start imitating the Lord and honoring Him, praise the Lord.
God bless you and have a great day.
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