Being like Jesus goes deeper. It’s more than merely copying His “style.” It involves Jesus living in us, and us living in Him. He told His followers, “Abide in Me, and I in you. … I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”1 So to be a fruitful Christian is to live in Jesus and to allow Him to live in us.
We partake of Jesus’ divine nature through developing and maintaining a deep relationship with Him, absorbing and applying His Word, and looking to Him for guidance and instruction. When we do these things, our thoughts and actions will be aligned with His. The apostle Paul talked about having the “mind of Christ,”2 which implies thinking, reacting, and acting like Jesus would.
The more we “abide in Jesus,” the more of our nature we relinquish and the more of His nature we take on, the more His thoughts, His attitudes, His actions and reactions will become our own. We will take on more of His characteristics, more of His love, kindness, meekness, and all the other fruits of the Spirit.3 We will do as He would do. We will be more like Him.
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1. John 15:4–5 ESV
2. 1 Corinthians 2:16
3. Galatians 5:22–23
