Quote & Questions
Quote:
"God will not protect you from anything that will make you more like Christ." - Elisabeth Elliot
We often pray for protection - from dangers, bad situations, and harm. We pray for protection for us, our family, and our friends. I am sure Elisabeth Elliot too prayed for the protection of her husband and friends who went to share the gospel with the Auca tribe in Ecuador. But, On January 8, 1956, the 5 men who went for this task were speared to death by the same tribe they tried to share the gospel with. A tough and heartbreaking situation, which God Himself allowed into her life. What should that do to a person?
Elisabeth later moved to the Auca village with her daughter and lived among them leading them to Christ and transforming the whole community which is almost very hard to believe. I don't think anybody could have done that without a Christ-like mindset.
In our life too, God allows unpleasant situations or people simply to make us more like Christ. And we sometimes think it's unnecessary. Wait a minute. Have we forgotten that we are called to be more like Christ every day? God must and will do anything in our lives, to make us more like His Son Christ. Being His disciples, we are called to become imitators of Christ in every way (1 Corinthians 11:1). We are called
to love like Him (John 13:34),
to serve like Him (John 13:12-15),
to be humble and selfless like Him (Philippians 2:3-5)
to suffer like Him (1 Peter 2:21)
to forgive like Him (Eph 4:32)
to obey like Him (Philippians 2:8) and much more.
Isn't this matter of great importance to us since we call ourselves followers of Christ? Remember my dear brothers and sisters, to be His follower, is to be an imitator of Him and all His ways. What an amazing privilege it is that we are given such a high calling, to be more like our beloved Christ, and less like the wretched self - every day.
Questions
Have I really understood the importance of being more like Christ?
Do I really learn all His ways to follow the same path?
Are there situations or people God is using in my life now to make me more like Him?
How is it changing me? How can I respond differently?
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