May 5, 2026
God’s desire for all who know Him is for us to become more like Christ. We do this by first growing in our knowledge of Christ. …
Of course, knowledge alone will not produce a Christlike character. The knowledge we gain from God’s Word must impact our hearts and convict us of the need to obey what we have learned. Romans 12:1–2 tells us emphatically that the process of filling our minds with the knowledge of God not only brings us closer to Christlikeness, but obedience to that knowledge aligns us with the perfect will of God. …
The natural consequence of knowing and obeying God is that He becomes greater and greater, while we become less and less as we yield control of our lives to Him. Just as John the Baptist knew that “[Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), so the Christian grows to reflect more of Christ and less of his own nature. …
It is important to realize that becoming more like Christ starts by receiving Him as Savior from our sins. Then we grow in our knowledge of God by reading the Bible daily, studying it, and being obedient to what it says.—GotQuestions.org1
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If we seek more Christlikeness in our lives, we need to “raise our sails.” How do we do that? We achieve this in part by doing the things that help to develop Christlike character, and by giving focus to specific attitudes and actions that put our sails into position to catch the wind of the Spirit, which will move us to our destination. Practically speaking, becoming Christlike means altering some aspects of our present character, and such change is difficult. It takes intentionality and discipline. However, being moved by the wind of God is well worth whatever the cost.
It takes serious character-building work to live the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus taught about the kingdom of God, sometimes referred to as the kingdom of heaven. He taught that the kingdom is both future and present. Living within the kingdom in the present means that we allow God to rule and reign in our lives, acknowledging and honoring Him as the one who created us. It means seeking to live in a way that honors and gives glory to Him, by doing our best to live according to His words in Scripture.
In order to become more Christlike, to live more kingdom-centered lives, we need to put in effort to align our lives, decisions, actions, and spirit with God and His Word. Doing so means “putting off” some aspects of ourselves and our character and “putting on” aspects of Christlikeness. It means cultivating the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). As we do our part to raise the sails, we grow in Christlikeness.—Peter Amsterdam
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You become like the people you spend the most time with. If you want to become more like Christ, start by spending time with Him. Talk to Him in prayer. Read His Word. Spend time with others who live like Him. When you do this, you will know Him better and become more like Him, making you more confident in your faith.
As we grow more like Christ, we are conformed into His image. We are transformed in Christ’s image by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). A great way to renew our minds is to meditate on God’s written Word, the Bible (Psalm 1:1–3; Romans 10:17) and submit to His living Word, Jesus (John 1:1). We can ask God to make His Word come alive to us: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). When we spend time in God’s Word and in prayer with Him, we come to know His voice: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27–28).
A sign of becoming more like Christ is growing in spiritual maturity, becoming more solidly grounded in our faith. The Apostle Paul discusses this concept in Ephesians 4:11–16. (See also Ephesians 4:17–24; 2 Peter 3:17–18.) …
We become more like Christ by giving up our own lives for the sake of Him. In the words of John the Baptist, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). … Becoming like Christ requires the pursuit of the knowledge of God and active obedience to His commands and instructions to us (James 1:22). … [It] is a work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we are saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts and begins to conform us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29–30). The process lasts a lifetime and is completed when we are with Jesus in heaven. … Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”—CompellingTruth.org2
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Several times, when I’ve needed a costume to wear to a party, I’ve written the names of fellow party-going friends on name tags and then plastered them over a black shirt. Add a black ski mask, and I become an “Identity Thief.”
It’s a fun costume but not so fun in real life. Each of us wants to be known for who we are—an individual with a unique personality and special abilities. That’s the way God created us to be: one of a kind.
Yet secretly, when I masquerade as the “Identity Thief,” each person represented on my shirt has something I’d like to have. … But I fail miserably when I try to redraw my life to look like other people’s. That’s because I need to be me, the way God designed me to be.
The only person God wants me to imitate is Him. “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children” (Ephesians 5:1).
The Genesis 1 creation record says God made people in His image. But sin has marred us. While we are still made in the image of God, our quest as growing Christians is to transform back into His likeness—Christlikeness—through sanctification and our imitation of God.
Paul, the writer of the book of Ephesians, goes on to list what we should imitate about God: His way of love and truth, His holiness, goodness, and righteousness (Ephesians 5:2–8). …
We may admire qualities someone else has and see them as superior to our own. But our best strategy is to follow the example of the only perfect human being—Jesus Christ. His life teaches us what character traits and behaviors are most important. He shows us how to center our lives around an eternal perspective and how to live out the concepts of love, holiness, purity, and righteousness based on our faith and trust in God.
If Jesus is the best example of all, why would we want to become like anyone else? ...
Lord, I want to be so in love with You that my desire is to become just like You and no one else. Please help me to know You better. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Karen Wingate3
Published on Anchor May 2026. Read by John Laurence. Music by John Listen.
1 “How can I become more like Christ?” GotQuestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/more-like-Christ.html
2 “How can I become more Christlike (Christ-like)?” CompellingTruth.org, https://www.compellingtruth.org/Christ-like.html
3 Karen Wingate, “Taking on the Identity of Christ,” Proverbs 31, October 18, 2023, https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2023/10/18/taking-on-the-identity-of-christ
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