10. As I participate in a relationship with God in His Kingdom, I will naturally become more like Jesus, taking on His character.

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.) 

We sometimes assume that to enter heaven or God’s Kingdom, we must become something that we are not: better, less sinful, more like Jesus. How does the idea that we can enter the Kingdom as we are, and that as we live our life with Jesus in His Kingdom we will naturally become like Him make you feel?

How does it feel to you to think that it might not be up to you to change or fix yourself?

Consider the difference between “making it happen” and “letting it happen” in your spiritual life.

What do you sense Jesus inviting you to “let happen”?

“Letting it happen” is similar to “letting go.” What might you need to let go of in your relationship with Jesus?

Most Christians would agree that becoming more like Jesus is an important part of our spiritual journey. For some, becoming more Christlike is their primary goal of life on earth. But the statement above implies that our primary goal is to participate in a relationship with God in His Kingdom. Becoming like Jesus is a result of that relationship.

Our transformation into Christlikeness is either the goal or the outcome of another goal. There are several dangers when we make Christlikeness the primary goal. One is that we might become like Jesus without coming to know Him intimately in a relationship. Another is that in our effort to become like Christ we might make take on too much responsibility, making it much about ourselves and crediting ourselves too much for our success. When we assume responsibility for becoming like Jesus, we can easily become exhausted and discouraged and be tempted to give up. Or, we might become proud and over-confident. But

when we make relationship with Jesus our main desire and focus simply on connecting to Him, noticing Him, listening to Him through His Spirit, and coming to know Him deeply as a friend, we will naturally take on His characteristics. It is common to see a young child mirroring the actions of their hero—an athlete, musician, artist, etc. So too with us and Jesus;

the more we “idolize” Jesus, admiring and studying His life and actions, the more we will begin to mimic Him. Imagine if the child who idolized their hero had the opportunity to live with that person, enjoy a personal connection, and be trained by their hero. This is what Jesus invites us into: to become His disciple, live with Him in His Kingdom, learn from Him, grow to know Him, and spontaneously become like Him.

This approach to our transformation is by far the simplest, most effortless and natural, but it requires that we desire to spend time with Jesus and participate in an authentic relationship with Him.