Becoming the Image of Jesus
Becoming the Image of Jesus: Making Christ Visible Through Your Life
What do people see when they encounter your life? For many Christians, following Jesus can become primarily about what we believe, where we attend church, or the biblical activities we practice. Those things certainly matter, but the Bible points us. toward something more profound: We are not simply called to check off boxes, we are called to increasingly look like Jesus.
Romans 8:29 says that God has predestined believers “to be conformed to the image of his Son.” That means becoming like Jesus is not an optional pursuit for who we would consider to be mature Christians. It is part of God’s purpose for every believer. To understand what that means, we first need to understand who Jesus is.
Jesus Is the Perfect Image of God
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. - Colossians 1:15
The word image carries the ideas of both representation and manifestation. Think about the difference between seeing a photograph of someone and having that person walk into the room. A photograph represents someone. You may learn what they look like, but the picture cannot speak, respond, love, or reveal the fullness of that person. However, when the person enters the room, representation has become manifestation.
We are created in the image of God and called to represent Him within creation. Jesus is different. In Christ, God has manifested Himself and entered the room. Jesus does not merely give us clues about what God is like. He perfectly reveals Him.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. - Colossians 1:19
Jesus becomes our reference point. If we want to understand the character, heart, priorities, and ways of God, we look to Christ. And that creates an important question for every Christian: If Jesus perfectly shows us what God is like, how clearly does my life show others what Jesus is like?
We Are Being Conformed to His Image
Going back to Romans 8:29, God is actively working to conform believers to the image of His Son. Christian growth, then, is more than gaining biblical knowledge. God is shaping our character, attitudes, priorities, reactions, and actions until they increasingly resemble Christ.
This brings discipleship into the ordinary parts of life. How do you respond when someone frustrates you? How do you treat people who cannot do anything for you? How do you speak when you are angry? How quickly do you forgive? What receives your time, attention, and affection? How do you respond when your plans are interrupted? These everyday moments reveal what is being formed within us.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that believers are “being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” Becoming like Jesus is a process. God continually works in us so that Christ becomes increasingly visible through us.
Let Jesus Shape Every Part of Your Life
Colossians continues by showing the supremacy of Christ. Everything was created through Him and “for him” (Colossians 1:16), everything holds together in Him (1:17), and He is to have first place in everything (1:18).
If Christ is truly preeminent, there should be no area of our lives excluded from His influence. Our marriages belong to Him. Our parenting belongs to Him. Our money belongs to Him. Our careers, schedules, relationships, habits, conversations, and private decisions belong to Him.
It is worth taking inventory and asking: Does Jesus have first place here? If He does, then our decisions should increasingly reflect His priorities. Our words should increasingly carry His grace. Our relationships should increasingly display His love. Our responses should increasingly demonstrate His patience, humility, truth, and forgiveness.
Make Jesus Visible
The Christian life is not simply carrying the name of Christ. It is increasingly carrying His likeness. You may never preach a sermon or stand behind a pulpit, but every day your life communicates something about the Jesus you claim to follow.
People should be able to encounter something of His compassion in the way you care, His patience in the way you respond, His holiness in the choices you make, His forgiveness in the grace you extend, and His love in the way you treat others.
Romans 8:29 gives us both a promise and a calling. God is shaping us into the image of His Son, and we must willingly surrender ourselves to that work. So ask yourself a question today:
Where does my life look least like Jesus?
Do not ignore that area. Bring it before God. Allow His Word to correct you, His Spirit to transform you, and the example of Christ to become your standard. Jesus perfectly reveals the Father. Our calling is to increasingly reveal Jesus. Let the goal of your life be that when people encounter you, they see a clearer picture of Him.