Growing in Christ’s image is the essence of a saved soul. The entire New Testament holds the key to a life dedicated to becoming more Christ-like. God’s New Covenant (Luke 22:20) places Jesus at the pinnacle of His kingdom, and once we enter the door to salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), the blueprint to live according to Christ’s Deity emerges.

Nothing pleases God more than showing Him personal commitment to Jesus’s teachings. Every time we implement Jesus’s commandments, God takes notice and provides us with spiritual blessings. These heavenly gifts are evidence of one’s willingness to grow in Christ’s image.

Radiating a Compassionate Heart

One of Christ’s undeniable divine attributes is radiating a compassionate heart. When Jesus walked on earth, He empathized with humanity’s pain and suffering. Most of His miracles result from His overwhelming sympathy toward the brokenness of the human heart.

For example, on two occasions, Christ fed the people gathered to hear Him speak (Matthew 14:13-21, 15:32-39). He showed them benevolence by giving them food provision. And after they ate, the leftovers totaled 19 baskets. In these leftovers, we see Jesus’s compassionate heart goes beyond the obvious, and He distributes it abundantly.

Another of Jesus’s compassionate heart is the cleansing of a leper (Mark 1:41-42). In this miracle, Christ’s warmhearted spirit emerged, healing the man with leprosy.

I cannot perform miracles. However, I can grow in Christ’s image by radiating a compassionate heart.

When confronted with the opportunity to feed a person, God gives me a choice to show empathy or look the other way.

I have to admit I often look the other way. For an instant, when I see someone begging for food outside a store or on the street corner holding a sign stating they are hungry, I pass judgment on their circumstances and don’t act in sympathy.

But when I reach out to their need and provide them food or money, the Holy Spirit fills my soul with incredible joy. This overwhelming display of God’s love for helping others motivates me to become more Christ-like. It inspires me to draw closer to His divine grace.

As I’m writing this, Christ shows me how I can do more to help the hungry. He unveiled donating to food banks, homeless shelters, and churches. These ways are within my means and an excellent demonstration of compassion.

I don’t have the power to heal people. I can only pray to God to heal them from their sickness. But this doesn’t mean I can’t become compassionate toward their sickly needs. I can serve their needs by providing them with rides to doctor appointments and caring for them by grocery shopping, cleaning their homes, and spending time with them. And I can continually improve on selfless giving.

As shown above, these are a few ways to grow in Christ’s compassionate heart. The neat reality of salvation is how God uses the Holy Spirit to continue showing us how to become more compassionate toward our neighbors.

The Spirit of Humility

One of Christ’s incredible attributes is His spirit of humility. Each of the four Gospels recorded Jesus’s meekness. They highlight His reverence toward God. Our Messiah never took credit for His teachings. No, He always gave His Father the glory.

We know this truth because Christ said:

So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. (John 8:28, NIV)

In this scripture, Jesus shows His humility by giving God all the triumph. Christ didn’t hesitate in expressing the reason for His ministry-glorifying God. He made it known that our heavenly Father sent Him and the Lord He serves. Jesus wants us to know He doesn’t do anything on His own. This is an excellent illustration of His humble spirit. And by His many miracles, we know where His power comes from.

Besides Christ’s acknowledgment of His mighty authority, He uncovers that doing God’s will is the essence of a spirit of Humility. Jesus Himself confessed that He does the will of our Father.

Jesus spoke these words:

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. (John 6:38, NIV)

Most of what Christ taught is doing God’s will. Jesus showed the Jews God’s way, and His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapters 5-7) uncovers a humble way of obeying His commandments. In those three chapters, Christ unearthed the wisdom of humility regarding marriage, anger, divorce, selfless giving, and love to name a few of God’s precepts. Yes, doing God’s will is humility in action.

Christ’s ultimate demonstration of humility is His death. When Jesus knew it was time for Him to die, He prayed.

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42, NIV)

In this verse, He humbly gave His fate to God. After His communication with God, His arrest happened (Luke 22:47-53) and led to His death (Luke 23:44-49). We see Jesus acting on God’s will by dying on the cross for the forgiveness of sin.

Christ’s humble spirit shows me the need to grow in His image. It isn’t easy to live content in a world driven by selfishness. No, the devil uses pride, greed, and materialism to separate me from God.

In the western world, I face temptations to boost myself up and live independently from Jesus and others. I try to show contentment with what I have, but sometimes I crave the urge to purchase something I don’t need. And the results from this lack of humility always end up with discontentment. I become unhappy and want more.

The spirit of humility is an ongoing action to grow in Christ’s image. It derives from my willingness to seek God’s holiness by trusting His omnipotence. The more I find myself anchored in Christ, the better I am at living content with what God provides in physical survival and spiritual bread.

Final Thoughts

Given these points, there is always room to grow in Christ’s image. This is but a brief description of growing more Christ-like. Most of the Epistle gives a treasure trove of how to draw closer to Jesus. One of the best places to start is the fruit of Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), but that is only a beginning.

How do you grow in Christ’s image?