Children often look like their parents.

Sometimes you see a child and the resemblance is so strong that the parent doesn’t even need to be there and you say, ‘I know who your dad is,’ or ‘I know who your mom is’!

When God looks upon us he sees what we look like on the inside. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God said to Samuel: “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

So imagine one day standing before your Maker. What does he say?—remembering that he sees who you are on the inside. 

First, if you are in Christ, he sees one of his own adopted children. He welcomes you, and offers you forgiveness, peace and eternity—not based on what you have done but on what Christ has done. Jesus’ righteousness, goodness, obedience and moral perfection are credited to your account. What a gift!

Second, he sees how you have been growing and progressing. So wouldn’t it be great if, at that moment, he said something like this: “My child, I know you’ve had some ups and downs; but through the years what I’ve noticed is how your heart has started to look more and more like mine.”

The apostle John gives us some motivation: “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6).

Can we do it alone? No.
Are we perfect? No.
Is our standing with God based on our own moral efforts? No.

But can we grow with God’s help? Yes.
Can our hearts be transformed to look more and more like Christ’s? Absolutely.

The more you live like a believer, the more you start to look like the one in whom you believe. 

By Matthew Ruttan

–This Sunday, December 6, 2020 at 10:01am EST I will lead worship at Westminster church. We’ll celebrate Communion (virtually) and I’ll offer the final instalment in the Down-To-Earth series—a line-by-line journey through the book of James. If you don’t already have a church home, click here to sign-up for a weekly email reminder that takes you to our service live on YouTube.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.