Not Imitation, BUT Impartation

1 Corinthians 1:

30He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,...

"The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh"
Oswald Chambers

Great quote from Chambers! Do I believe it? Well... not wholeheartedly. I think he's talking about sanctification, and my understanding of sanctification is that it is a process that takes place in our lives over the course of time. Its part of the process of BECOMING more and more like Jesus.

Do I think that Chambers is saying something different? Yes and No. I think he makes it sound as if the text says that we are wholly sanctified when we accept Christ as Lord and Savior, but I'm pretty certain based on his other writings that he doesn't believe that. I think that he is trying to tell us that in spite of the sinfulness of our lives, the atonement of Christ is in no way insufficient to cleanse us of our sins, and to impart to us what we need to live a life that is holy, acceptable, and pleasing unto God.

A butterfly isn't a caterpillar secretly trying to imitate a butterfly. A butterfly is a creature that once was a caterpillar, but has transformed into a butterfly... a NEW CREATURE!

So, let yourself off the hook a little. Stop living with the anxiety that you have to earn that which has been freely given. You're not an imitation... you're the product of an impartation.

Written by Frederick A Hanna