Growing to Look Like My Father
“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1 Peter 2:1-3 NKJV
I love the commercial where a man is at the gym and he gets on the scale to weigh. After weighing, he takes a lap around the gym, runs back to the scales and weighs again. He is noticeably upset that there is no change.
Isn’t that just how we are? We want to make a change, but we want it to be an instant transformation instead of a slow, gradual process.
My daughter just gave birth to another sweet little girl. She and her husband also have a 4 year old son and a two year old daughter. Grandchildren are such a blessing!
One of the first things that people do when they hold a baby is to try to figure out who the baby looks like. Does she have mom’s eyes or daddy’s nose? Isn’t her chin like her brother’s and her cheeks like her sister’s?
All the questions about my new granddaughter’s looks led to looking back at baby pictures of her brother and sister. It’s easy then to pick out which facial features she has that were like her siblings when they were newborns.
But it’s also a reminder of how the looks of their little faces have changed over time. Even the features of the 4 and 2 year old that resembled each other at birth have matured and the resemblance to their parents are more evident.
As children of God, we also should remember that our goal is to look more like our Heavenly Father every day. But it’s a slow process. The moment we accept Christ as our Savior, we are like a baby. We are newborns and it will take time to grow and change into His image. There is no immediate transformation like the man at the gym was hoping for.
And that transformation is deliberate. If we try to take “one lap around” and then give up if there is no difference, we will remain unchanged. We change and grow in Christ when we spend time with Him in His Word. We have to intentionally choose to take the steps necessary to mature in the faith.
When we compare the “picture” of our lives as newborn Christians to ourselves now, we should resemble our Savior more now than then. How wonderful it would be to have people look at us and say, “She looks just like her Father!”
Ponder This:
Who do you look like? Are you still a babe in Christ or are you maturing in your faith? Read this passage from Hebrews:
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:12-14 NIV
We should be growing each day in the truth of God’s Word. As we read His word and spend time with Him in prayer, we can “grow up” to look like Christ.
Dear Heavenly Father,
My heart’s desire is to look more like Christ each day, but I know that this will take time. Help me to be persistent in spending time with You so that I can be transformed daily into Your image. May I grow and mature and eat the solid food You offer in Your Word. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
This blog appeared on Encouragement Cafe 1/19/16