God’s Best Example
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be representatives of God’s kingdom on this earth. We are to let happiness, love, joy and a unique stability of mind permeate our presence. We have eternal life and we know it because we live by God’s Ways.
Jesus Christ says He is eternal life and everyone who lives as He lived—glorifying the Father with good works, enduring to the end and continuing to keep his old nature under control—will receive eternal life (Rom. 16:19-20). God crushes our old nature as we continue overcoming our evil nature by doing good (Rom. 12:21). That is what it means to repent.
We should strive to control our thinking so that we think only what is pure and lovely. We should seek peace and pursue it earnestly (Psalm 34:14). We must practice making the words that come out of our mouths as if they were the words of God (1 Peter 4:11). We should pursue, hunger, and thirst for righteousness so that Christ’s nature can be formed in us (Matt. 5:6; Gal. 4:19). We mustn’t let anything stop us from receiving that new nature and pressing on to perfection.
Jesus emphasized the fact that nothing should stop us in the process of receiving our new nature (Phil. 3:14; Luke 21:19). Jesus used a severe parable saying, “If your eye offends thee, pluck it out” (Matt. 18:9). In other words, we are not to let anything stop us from achieving our goal, which is godliness.
We must strive to be godly examples to others in thought, word and deed, like Christ (Col. 3:17). We must not do anything to make a brother stumble who has found the Way—the holy Way that the unclean are not permitted to travel (Rev. 21:8).
So keep your conduct holy, pure and blameless in all things. Always remember Paul’s words, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” Are you ready to have others follow you, yet (1 Cor. 11:1)?
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