Saints are not content to stagnate in their walk with God; we’re dissatisfied in ourselves, ever aware of our imperfections (1Jn 1:8), always pushing forward, pursuing Him, following after Him to be more like Him, ever closer to Him. (Php 3:12)
Pursuing Christ means taking heed to our ways, being aware of our spiritual health and maintaining a constant goal to be more and more like Christ (1Pe 2:21), putting Him on (Ep 4:24), pretending in some further way to be like Him (1Pe 2:21), to walk as He walked. (1Jn 2:6)
It means to abide in Him (1Jn 2:28), to walk worthy of Him (Col 1:10), to walk in the light, in fellowship with Him. (1Jn 1:7)
It means to intentionally focus on the nature of Christ, rejoicing in Him, feeding in His majesty, and meditating on the precious promises which enable us to be partakers of His divine nature. (2Pe 1:4) As we behold Him He transforms us into His image, from one stage of holiness to another. (2Co 3:18) Every bit of Christ we can find, every step we take towards Him, is a treasure.
This is a journey no one else can take for us, a race we must run for ourselves; we are each accountable to God for our walk with Him; we must ponder the path and pursue Him for ourselves. Yet we must not isolate ourselves from community in our striving after Christ, for He is in our brothers and sisters, and can even reveal Himself through those outside the faith. He is above all, through all, and in us all. (Ep 4:6)
It might be frustrating if we focus too much on ourselves, trying to do this on our own. But our delight is that Christ is not only Who we pursue, but also How we pursue; He Himself is the Way we follow and the Life that quickens us to go. (Jn 14:6) He enables our pursuit as His grace reigns through righteousness in us. (Ro 5:21) When our eyes are on Jesus like they’re supposed to be (He 12:2), it’s a privilege to pursue Him.
Tim,
So far, just wondering about your word choice of “pretending”
in relation to current culture.
pretending in some further way to be like Him
I can see pretending in the sense of, we fall short and are only striving….
and this may be written that one has to think about it, as anything
read, is just read, not always taken in.
Just seeing if I am reading right?
Stephen
I am thinking in the sense of role-playing, playing dress-up, like a little boy playing soldier or a little girl playing house. We learn by imitation. I think this is partly what Paul meant by “putting on” Christ. I first read about this concept from CS Lewis, and found it intriguing and helpful.
How does that strike you?
With that background, understand 🙂
This concept rings with “fake it til you make it” but not in a negative way. The concept of “imposter syndrome” is essentially the idea that when you do things that are out of character for you in pursuit of acquiring that trait authentically; it feels like you are just acting, an “imposter”.
This is what it can feel like when you are in pursuit of Christ. Putting Him on if you will; but this is the entire point. We are shedding our “old man” in favor of being like Him. The process of dying to ourselves can feel like pretending, especially when the enemy whispers to us in our minds or through those around us, or the worlds culture itself.
Just a thought
Yes, acting as we know we should, as well as we can, even if we don’t feel like our hearts are entirely aligned with our behavior, can feel “pretend”, like we are inauthentic. But as we lead with our will, as God enables us, He can quicken even our sentiment and feeling such that we are eventually following after Him in our entirety, holistically. I think we should obey Him in every way that we possibly can, continually asking Him to enable us to follow Him ever more rightly and purely.