Becoming Christlike

After Paul left the Ephesian elders at his stop in Miletus, he headed toward Jerusalem (Acts 20:17-38). At Miletus, he shared with those elders that the Holy Spirit had obligated him to go to the Holy City. In fact, the word he used was that he had been bound by the Holy Spirit for that purpose. The word carries in it the idea of being chained up. He also shared with them how the Holy Spirit told him at all of the cities he had visited on his journey that he would see both imprisonment and afflictions when he reached his destination. At one of his next stops, a prophet named Agabus shared a similar message from the Holy Spirit. He had been told the same thing by the Holy Spirit. Instead of praying for Paul’s resolve and a sharpening of his discernment, his fellow Christians tried to convince him to call off his journey to Jerusalem (Acts 21:12).

At this stage in his Christian walk, Paul had become very much like Jesus.  Consider how Jesus shared with his disciples in the gospel of Matthew that he was going to be killed by Jewish religious leaders and their acolytes (Matthew 16:21-23). His disciple, Peter, just could not process the idea of his master dying at the hands of hypocrites. So strong was his revulsion at that idea that he actually attempted to rebuke Jesus. Jesus famously rebuked him back with the phrase, “Get thee behind me Satan” (Matthew 16:23 KJV).  Jesus was bound by God for a certain mission and he was going to carry it out.  In like manner, Paul had been bound by the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem. Suffering would be part of that journey. In fact, suffering was prophesied as early as the time of Paul’s conversion.  When Paul was traveling on the road to Damascus to persecute believers, God struck him blind, then sent a disciple named Ananias to hasten or assist with Paul’s restoration of sight and to help him see who the Christ really was. Ananias was told by God that Paul was a chosen instrument to carry his name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. He also told Anananias that the soon-to-be apostle would be shown just how much he must suffer for the sake of God’s name (Acts 9:15-16).

A strong biblical pattern is one in which followers of Jesus become more and more like him as they face the trials of a hostile human world that hates God, but that God works all of those trials into something good.  The good is that those followers of Christ are fashioned into people that are so much like Christ that they can be called his brothers and sisters in a holy, supernatural family of divine importance (Romans 8:28-29). Another strong biblical pattern is that the more inclined we are to give our lives, the more inclined God is to bless us with a better and fuller life (Matthew 16:24-25).

Jesus gave his life for us, and was blessed with the highest of all glories that can be given to a man.  Paul gave his life for the name of Jesus, which means he also gave his life for us – and he did it willingly (Acts 21:13). He is now blessed with heavenly riches that we’ll never know on this side of Heaven, and he shares in the glory of God (Romans 8:17). What parts of your life have you given to God?