A Self-Guide To The Deeper Christian Life
Reflections On The Character Of Christ To Guide You In Your Christian Growth
Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Christian Life
| Author: | Marcus C. Ashton | ISBN: | 1230000017320 |
| Publisher: | KMS Publishing | Publication: | September 12, 2012 |
| Imprint: | Language: | English |
| Author: | Marcus C. Ashton |
| ISBN: | 1230000017320 |
| Publisher: | KMS Publishing |
| Publication: | September 12, 2012 |
| Imprint: | |
| Language: | English |
Certainly no one would deny that there is nothing but character that we can carry out of life with us. I suppose there is almost no Christian who would deny, if it were put to him, that the greatest possible attainment a man can make in this world is likeness to The Lord Jesus Christ.
The glory of Christ is His character; and as often as we stand before Christ, and think of Him, and realize what He was, our heart goes out and reflects some of His character. And that reflection, that glory, is not any longer merely on the skin of the face; as Paul wishes us to recognize, it is a spiritual glory, it is wrought by the spirit of Christ upon our spirit, and it is we ourselves that are changed from glory to glory into the very image of the Lord.
Our Christian faith would have us believe that our prospect of good in any future life will certainly vary with the resemblance of our character to that of Jesus Christ. We all admit that; but almost every one of us offers to himself some apology for not being like Christ, and has scarcely any clear reality of aiming to becoming like Him.
One or two men in a century may become great saints; given a certain natural disposition and given exceptionally favouring circumstances, men may become saintly; but surely the ordinary run of men, men such as we know ourselves to be, with secular disposition and with many strong, vigorous passions—surely we can really not be expected to become like Christ, or, if it is expected of us, we know that it is impossible.
The apostle Paul says you will infallibly become holy if you learn this easy lesson of carrying the Lord Jesus with you in your heart. He reveals to us the mode of becoming like Christ, and a mode, as we shall find, so simple and so infallible in its working that a man cannot understand it without renewing his hope that even he may one day become like Christ.
Certainly no one would deny that there is nothing but character that we can carry out of life with us. I suppose there is almost no Christian who would deny, if it were put to him, that the greatest possible attainment a man can make in this world is likeness to The Lord Jesus Christ.
The glory of Christ is His character; and as often as we stand before Christ, and think of Him, and realize what He was, our heart goes out and reflects some of His character. And that reflection, that glory, is not any longer merely on the skin of the face; as Paul wishes us to recognize, it is a spiritual glory, it is wrought by the spirit of Christ upon our spirit, and it is we ourselves that are changed from glory to glory into the very image of the Lord.
Our Christian faith would have us believe that our prospect of good in any future life will certainly vary with the resemblance of our character to that of Jesus Christ. We all admit that; but almost every one of us offers to himself some apology for not being like Christ, and has scarcely any clear reality of aiming to becoming like Him.
One or two men in a century may become great saints; given a certain natural disposition and given exceptionally favouring circumstances, men may become saintly; but surely the ordinary run of men, men such as we know ourselves to be, with secular disposition and with many strong, vigorous passions—surely we can really not be expected to become like Christ, or, if it is expected of us, we know that it is impossible.
The apostle Paul says you will infallibly become holy if you learn this easy lesson of carrying the Lord Jesus with you in your heart. He reveals to us the mode of becoming like Christ, and a mode, as we shall find, so simple and so infallible in its working that a man cannot understand it without renewing his hope that even he may one day become like Christ.
