Becoming More Like Jesus Christ

Growing in His Character, One Choice at a Time

The earth is good grooming ground for God’s children. Our Heavenly Father knew exactly what He was doing when He placed us here. He knew the challenges we would face, the people we would encounter, the lessons we would need to learn, and the choices that would test our faith. Nothing about our spiritual growth catches Him by surprise. He is the most excellent Planner that will ever exist, and His plan for our lives reaches far beyond the things we’re hoping to accomplish while we’re here. His desire is that we become more and more like His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. The compassion, kindness, patience, generosity, humility, and love of Christ should become so much a part of us that people begin to recognize His character in the way we live.

Becoming like Jesus Christ doesn’t mean that we lose our personalities or become carbon copies of one another. God has given each of us unique qualities, abilities, and assignments within His plan. He isn’t interested in turning us into robots or puppets. He wants children who love Him, trust Him, and willingly choose to follow His Word. Genesis 1:26 tells us that God created humanity in His image, and through Jesus Christ, He is restoring us to the kind of life He intended us to live. This is a tremendous privilege, but it also carries responsibility. We can’t expect the character of Christ to develop in us while we continue giving our old habits, attitudes, and desires permission to run the show.

Becoming Like Jesus Requires a Willing Heart

Philippians 2:5 (NKJV) tells us, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” That’s an instruction we should take seriously. God isn’t simply asking us to admire the way Jesus lived. He’s telling us to adopt His way of thinking. Jesus Christ was completely devoted to the Will of the Father. He didn’t allow personal convenience, the opinions of others, or the difficulties He encountered to pull Him away from His assignment. In John 4:34 (NKJV), Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” Obeying the Father wasn’t something Jesus squeezed into His schedule when everything else was taken care of. It was the very purpose of His life.

And here’s where we have to examine ourselves. We can spend years studying the Bible, attending church, and talking about how much we love Jesus, but what happens when His Word challenges something we don’t want to change? What happens when we have to apologize first, forgive someone who hasn’t asked for forgiveness, or walk away from a situation that appeals to our flesh? These are the places where our commitment to becoming like Christ gets tested. It’s one thing to agree with God’s Word when it confirms what we already want to do. It’s another thing altogether to obey Him when our feelings are pulling us in the opposite direction.

Our Heavenly Father has given us free-will choice, and He doesn’t force us to follow Him. 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NKJV) declares, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Through Christ, we’ve been given freedom from the bondage of sin, but that freedom was never intended to become an excuse for disobedience. Every day, we’re making choices that either support our spiritual growth or interfere with it. Some of those choices seem insignificant at the time, but repeated choices become habits, and habits have a way of revealing what’s really governing our hearts.

His Character Must Show Up in Our Everyday Lives

Sometimes we make spiritual growth more complicated than it needs to be. We look for extraordinary experiences while overlooking the ordinary situations where God is teaching us to become more like His Son. Consider how we respond when someone interrupts our plans, disagrees with us, disappoints us, or speaks to us in a disrespectful manner. Do we immediately become defensive? Do we hold on to the offense and rehearse it for the next three days? Do we crash out or give someone a piece of our mind and then ask God to forgive us afterward? These are the kinds of things we need to pay attention to.

Colossians 3:12 (NLT) instructs us, “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Notice that these are qualities we’re instructed to put on. We have a part to play. When impatience starts rising, we can stop ourselves before speaking harshly. When pride makes an apology difficult, we can humble ourselves and make things right. When we’re tempted to gossip, we can close our mouths instead of joining the conversation. These aren’t glamorous spiritual accomplishments, but they are evidence that we’re allowing the Word of God to change us.

We also need to become more deliberate about studying the life of Jesus Christ. Read the Gospels with the intention of learning the way He treated people and handled situations. Pay attention to His compassion toward those who were suffering, His patience with His disciples, His firmness when confronting hypocrisy, and His refusal to compromise the truth. Then ask yourself, “How would following His example change the way I’m handling the situations in my own life?” Don’t rush past that question. Give it some thought, pray about it, and put what you’re learning into practice.

We Must Cooperate with the Holy Spirit

We cannot produce the character of Christ through determination alone. We need the help of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22–23 teaches us that the Holy Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in our lives. These qualities are not decorations for our Christian walk. They are evidence of the work the Spirit is doing within us as we yield to His leadership.

One practical way to cooperate with the Holy Spirit is to become more attentive to our reactions. Before responding to something that has upset you, give yourself a moment to consider whether your response will honor Jesus Christ. If you recognize a pattern of jealousy, resentment, dishonesty, or impatience, don’t excuse it by saying, “That’s just how I am.” Take it before the Lord. Search His Word for instruction, and begin practicing a different response. There will be times when you don’t get it right. When that happens, acknowledge it, repent, receive God’s forgiveness, and keep growing. Spiritual maturity doesn’t come from pretending we never make mistakes. It comes from being willing to let God correct us.

And prayer is so important. We should be asking our Heavenly Father to reveal the areas where our character needs attention. That’s a prayer that requires some courage because we might not like what He shows us. Sometimes the problem isn’t the person who keeps getting on our nerves. Sometimes it’s our unwillingness to exercise patience. Sometimes what we call discernment is really suspicion, and what we call standing our ground is plain old stubbornness. We need enough humility to recognize the difference.

Standing Firm When Our Faith Is Tested

Jesus Christ didn’t promise that following Him would exempt us from trouble. He demonstrated how to remain faithful to the Father in the middle of it. Hebrews 12:2 reminds us that He endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. He understood the Father’s purpose, and He remained obedient even when obedience required tremendous suffering. We will never face what our Savior faced, but His example teaches us that our commitment to God’s Will cannot depend on whether life is comfortable.

1Peter 5:8–9 (NLT) warns, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” The enemy is looking for opportunities to attack, but God has provided everything we need to stand firm in our faith.

We would be wise to heed this warning. The enemy doesn’t need to persuade us to abandon everything we believe in one afternoon. Sometimes all he needs is for us to keep entertaining a wrong attitude, nursing an offense, or justifying a decision that contradicts God’s Word. That’s why we must stay spiritually attentive. We need to know what the Word says, believe it, and be prepared to obey it when temptation comes knocking.

One of the best ways to prepare ourselves is to practice obedience before the pressure gets heavy. Don’t wait until you’re facing a major crisis to begin developing patience, self-control, or trust in God. Practice telling the truth when a lie would be easier. Practice keeping your word when following through becomes inconvenient. Practice generosity when nobody is watching. Practice forgiving the small offenses instead of allowing bitterness to accumulate. These daily decisions strengthen our spiritual discipline and teach us to rely on the Holy Spirit rather than our emotions.

Less of Us and More of Christ

Romans 12:2 (NLT) tells us, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” This transformation is not something we should expect to happen while we’re holding tightly to every opinion, preference, and personal agenda we’ve accumulated over the years. There are things we must surrender. There are attitudes we must unlearn. And there are times when we must admit that the way we’ve been handling life simply doesn’t agree with the example Jesus Christ has given us.

Our Heavenly Father has a purpose for our lives, and becoming like His Son is central to that purpose. We can have wonderful plans for our futures, but none of them should become more important than growing in the character of Christ. What good is achieving everything on our personal wish list if we’re still unkind, unforgiving, impatient, and unwilling to obey God? The Lord is interested in the person we’re becoming, not simply the things we’re accomplishing.

Pay attention when opportunities arise to respond differently, and don’t keep making excuses for behavior you know needs to change. Pray consistently about the changes you may need to make. Jesus Christ has given us the perfect example, and the Holy Spirit is within us to help us follow it. We won’t become spiritually mature overnight, but we can become more obedient, more loving, more patient, and more faithful as we continue walking with Him. This is the life our Heavenly Father has called us to live, and every day gives us another opportunity to become more like Jesus Christ. ■

“Becoming More Like Jesus Christ”, written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times and KLizzie, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2026. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to encouraging and inspiring Christian Women to live boldly through God’s Word.