Oh To Be Like Him

“For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Le 11:45 AV)

When we speak of our relationship to the LORD, it is often on spiritual or emotional terms.  Rarely do we consider our relationship with God on the terms of character.  We sing our hymns and read our bibles for spiritual or emotional affirmation, but how often do we read the word of God as a matter of conformity to the character of God?  The LORD did not rescue Israel from the slime pits of Egypt so they could remain as they were.  He brought them out that He might change them into what He created them to be. 

I like watching those nature shows produced by the BBC.  I whole-heartily disagree and will vehemently oppose their stance on evolution.  Every time they mention millions of years, I get a chuckle and say something like, “If they only knew.”  However, there are several things that I take away from a program like this.  In their presentation, I see the complexity and wonder of the Creator.  To create all that He has in such unique and miraculous balance is a wonder beyond words.  To see the practices of each species that is unique to itself as the means of survival, protection, or procreation is remarkable to say the least.  But there is another lesson to be learned here.  Without exception, adults of a species raise their young to be duplicates of themselves.  Even to the specific behaviors of the species.  One such example was the sea horse.  When the young hatched, they were hatched in a protected area and they emulated the feeding habits of their adult father.  Then there was the arctic seal who pushed her cub into the water so it could learn to swim and hunt just like mother did.  Each species trained their young to duplicate the exact behavior of their species.  The ape did not leave it to her young to live like a sloth no more than the lion allowed her young to graze like a gazelle.  Since creation, these species have been raised the same way.  If they are a polar bear, the will do as polar bears have done for centuries.  If they are reindeer, they will migrate just as their species have done for thousands of years.  Because that is what they are.

Today, our Christian experience is so shallow compared to what the LORD designed it to be.  He designed our salvation to be a conversion.  A conversion from wickedness to holiness.  A conversion from the worldly to the godly.  A conversion from the corruptness of humanity to the character of a holy God.  As we claim to be born again, this also implies maturing into the image and character of the One who gave us life.  It is not enough to sing our praise and worship.  It is not enough to embrace a Christian culture and rehearse well known bible stories.  The pursuit of separation and holiness is our calling.  To simply advertise a catchy saying like WWJD does a great disservice to conversion.  How much more like God are we today than we were yesterday, last month, last year, or from the day we were saved?