“If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”–Ephesians 4:21–24
The great pioneer missionary Adoniram Judson suffered enormous hardship and loss during more than thirty years of faithful service in Burma (modern day Myanmar). He buried two wives and numerous children. He was persecuted, imprisoned, and tortured. He labored for more than six years before seeing his first convert. It took him years to translate the Bible into the very difficult Burmese language. Yet Judson did not consider himself to have reached a high level in the Christian life. When someone compared him to the Apostle Paul Judson responded, “I do not want to be like a Paul…or any mere man. I want to be like Christ. I want to follow Him only, copy His teachings, drink in His Spirit, and place my feet in His footprints. Oh, to be more like Christ!”
The world does not need better educated and trained Christians. The world does not need Christians who fit in better and don’t make waves with their beliefs. What it needs is Christians who are less like the world and more like Jesus. The sacrificial life of Christ is the pattern we are meant to follow. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). He is the standard by which we will be measured and evaluated for our service, and He is the example that we are meant to emulate. The more that we focus our efforts on following His steps, the more powerful and effective our lives will be.
There is no higher calling or purpose that we can have than to live as Jesus did.–Daily in the Word
