To Be Like Him
Is your goal in life — right now — to be like Jesus? The Apostle John told us that “now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
I realize that when we read that verse we usually think that at some time in the future, when Christ comes for the second time, we will receive a new, heavenly body. And that is correct. But did John mean that “we will be like Him” only at that time?
The Bible frequently urges us to live our lives following His example; that we are to follow God’s will for our lives. So the way in which we think, talk, and behave are to molded after Him.
One of the first characteristics we are to develop is Love. Paul tells us, “Be completely humble & gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). And in 1 Cor. 13:1, he says that he wants to show us a “more excellent way. He points out that love is more important that other characteristics we may want.
In vs. 1, Paul says that love is more important than spiritual gifts. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” Even though we may have tremendous gifts, if we don’t have love, then it is nothing.
Then in vs. 2 Paul says that love is more important than knowledge. “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, ... but have not love, I am nothing.” For the hearts of other people to change and accept Christ, they must know how much we love them, not how much we “know.”
Third, Paul says that love is more important than faith. Now he doesn’t say that faith is not important. He just says that love is more important. He said, “If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2). I think James was saying this same basic thing. If your faith does not cause you to love others, to care, and to change, then it is nothing.
Fourth, love is more important than generosity. Paul ...
