How to become like Christ

How to become like Christ

The Project Gutenberg EBook of How to become like Christ, by Marcus Dods This
eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project
Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: How to become like Christ
Author: Marcus Dods
Release Date: September 15, 2004 [EBook #13460]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO BECOME LIKE
CHRIST ***

Produced by Jonathon Love

HOW TO BECOME LIKE CHRIST
CONTENTS
How to Become Like Christ The Transfiguration Indiscreet Importunity Shame on
Account of God's Displeasure Naaman Cured The Lame Man at the Temple Gate
HOW TO BECOME LIKE CHRIST.
"But we all, with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."--2 COR. iii.
18 (Revised Version).
I suppose there is almost no one who would deny, if it were put to him, that the greatest
possible attainment a man can make in this world is likeness to The Lord Jesus Christ.
Certainly no one would deny that there is nothing but character that we can carry out of
life with us, and that our prospect of good in any future life will certainly vary with the
resemblance of our character to that of Jesus Christ, which is to rule the whole future. We
all admit that; but almost every one of us offers to himself some apology for not being
like Christ, and has scarcely any clear reality of aim of becoming like Him. Why, we say
to ourselves, or we say in our practice, it is really impossible in a world such as ours is to
become perfectly holy. One or two men in a century may become great saints; given a
certain natural disposition and given exceptionally favouring circumstances, men may
become saintly; but surely the ordinary run of men, men such as we know ourselves to be,
with secular disposition and with many strong, vigorous passions--surely we can really
not be expected to become like Christ, or, if it is expected of us, we know that it is

impossible. On the contrary, Paul says, "We all," "we all." Every Christian has that for a
destiny: to be changed into the image of his Lord. And he not only says so, but in this one
verse he reveals to us the mode of becoming like Christ, and a mode, as we shall find, so
simple and so infallible in its working that a man cannot understand it without renewing
his hope that even he may one day become like Christ.
In order to understand this simplest mode of sanctification we must look back at the
incident that we read in the Book of Exodus (xxxiv. 29-35.). Paul had been reading how
when Moses came down from the mount where he had been speaking with God his face
shone, so as to dazzle and alarm those who were near him.
They at once recognised that that was the glory of God reflected from him; and just as it
is almost as difficult for us to look at the sun reflected from a mirror as to look directly at
the sun, so these men felt it almost as difficult to look straight at the face of Moses as to
look straight at the face of God. But Moses was a wise man, and he showed his wisdom
in this instance as well as elsewhere. He knew that that glory was only on the skin of his
face, and that of course it would pass away. It was a superficial shining. And accordingly
he put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel might not see it dying out from
minute to minute and from hour to hour, because he knew these Israelites thoroughly, and
he knew that when they saw the glory dying out they would say, "God has forsaken
Moses. We need not attend to him any more. His authority is gone, and the glory of God's
presence has passed from him." So Moses wore the veil that they might not see the glory
dying out. But whenever he was called back to the presence of God he took off the veil
and received a new access of glory on his face, and thus went "from glory to glory."
"That," says Paul, "is precisely the process through which we Christian men become like
Christ." We go back to the presence of Christ with unveiled face; and as often as we
stand in His presence, as often as