Copy His Life

I think of all the questions I've ever been asked, this is by far the most common and the most popular one of all: How do I know God's purpose for my life?

I think the truth really is, for most of us at least, we struggle with knowing God's specific will for us personally.

We want the big assignment... the calling. We want to have purpose, and to know that we are needed in some formal capacity this side of eternity.

And yet I wonder if His desire for His children to discover their calling has less to do with career and more to do with character.

Paul says in Phil 2:5, "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had." (NLT). I love it in The Passion Translation, "And consider the example that Jesus has set before us. Let His mindset become your motivation."

The King James Version says in part, "Let this mind be IN you..."

The word "in" translated from the Greek here means in, on, and among. And for me, this really changes the entire game!

His attitude must be IN me, yes. But it must also be seen ON me and living AMONG me.

Wow.

While we so often feel limited by our human weakness, we have been called to earnest obedience and eager imitation of Jesus. We are to faithfully devote ourselves to reproducing the habits of the mind and life that marked His earthly career. These habits include: meekness, humility, patience, forgiveness, self-denial, superiority over temptation, and resignation to the Father's will.

You and I have been called to learn His ways and copy His life. My commentary says that we, "must resemble Him in His life, if we would have the benefit of His death."

Christ is our model. He is our pattern.

There's nothing else we need to know apart from learning all it means to live as He did here on planet earth. To learn what it means to carry Him into every environment we encounter.

Because all we've been assigned as our trade is fully dependent upon how well we will steward His presence and how well we will represent Him in this world.

Your calling? My calling? It's not always easy, but it is simple: Copy His life.