The Secret to Becoming More Like Jesus

One of the areas that I have struggled with for most of my life is food. Ever since I was a kid, I have struggled with overeating.

Throughout my life, I have had a mixed bag of success—seasons where I’ve been able to make good and healthy choices, and seasons where I haven’t. And even on my good days, it is still a struggle because we live in a culture with an abundance of food.

It’s a daily struggle for me.

I know that in different seasons where I have been overweight and embarrassed about the man I see in the mirror, I have read stories of people who have lost 20, 30, 40, or even 50 pounds.

And I always wondered: How did they do it? How were they able to lose that much weight? How have they been able to keep it off? What is their secret?

I think we probably all have those areas of our lives where we look at someone else and wonder, “How did they do that?”

Maybe it’s our weight. Maybe it’s our career. Maybe it’s our finances.

And as believers, we all experience this with our faith.

We see people who seem further along in their Christian walk, and we wonder:

• How did they become so loving?
• What allows them to be so joyful in the middle of difficult circumstances?
• How do they have so much peace when it seems like the world is falling apart?

It can be easy to look at them and envy them and ask:

“What is their secret?”

Today, I want to share one verse and one idea that can help you become more like Jesus in at least one area of your life.

Becoming More Like Jesus

In 2 Corinthians 3:18, the Apostle Paul writes:

“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, and basically what he is saying is this: It is God’s Spirit living in you that makes you more like Him.

The Greek word Paul uses for “changed” here is metamorpho, where we get our English word metamorphosis. It means to change from the inside out. What Paul is saying to the Corinthian church is: It’s not about a series of life hacks that makes you right with God. Rather, it is God’s Spirit transforming you from the inside out.

Paul is saying that when you turn to the Lord, when you turn to Jesus, the veil is removed, and you get a clearer picture of Him.

And the closer you move to Jesus, the more you become like Him.

That is the big idea Paul is leaving the Corinthian church with.

And that is the big idea I want to highlight:

The closer you move to Jesus, the more you become like Jesus.

In other words, if there is an area of your life where you want to become more like Jesus—more loving, more joyful, more peaceful, or any of the other fruit of the Spirit that Paul outlines in Galatians 5:22-23—the secret, the key, the first step is this:

Move closer to Jesus in that area of your life.

How do we do that?

Maybe it’s through:

• Prayer.
• Spending more time in God’s Word.
• Choosing obedience.
• Worship.
• Creating space to hear from God.

Now, I’m not giving you a list of life hacks.

And it’s not simply by praying more, reading more Scripture, or memorizing more Scripture that, by itself, makes you more like Jesus.

Rather, those are steps we take that move us closer to Jesus.

And the closer we move to Jesus, the more we become like Him.

A Question to Reflect On

I want you to take a minute and think about this:

What is one area of your life where you want to become more like Jesus?

Maybe it’s:

• A relationship.
• Your finances.
• Becoming more patient.
• Becoming more faithful.
• Trusting God more.

Whatever that area is, I want you to sit with the Lord and ask:

“God, what is one area where You want me to become more like Jesus this week?”

And then ask Him:

“What is one way I can move closer to Jesus so that I can become more like Him in this area?”

Maybe it’s an act of obedience that you have been putting off.

Maybe it’s simply carving out more time to spend in prayer—even if it’s just an extra minute or two.

Maybe it’s turning the TV off and spending more time in God’s Word.

Maybe it’s spending more time in worship.

Whatever it is, I want to challenge you to sit with the Lord and ask:

“Father, what is one way I can move closer to Jesus this week so that I can become more like Him?”