It's Fall! Better than January 1st...

Every fall we send our kids off to school.  As you look back, do you see growth and change in your child?  Not just physically, but mentally?  Emotionally?  Socially?  Do they know more today than they did in kindergarten?  Do they handle conflict better than they did in preschool?  Can your 3^rd grader help a 1^st grader tie his shoe?

We measure our child’s progress by the things they learn at school and at home; it’s usually pretty obvious when there is a deficiency in some particular area – it shows up in a test result, an inability to accomplish some task, or even by comparison to other children of the same age.

But do we ever stop to consider our own progress?

As Christians, our goal in life is to please God. 

We please God by becoming more and more like Jesus. 

So how do we KNOW if we’re becoming more and more like Jesus?  Is there an “Image of Jesus” test?  Is there some task by which we can measure our accomplishment?  Do we dare compare ourselves to another Christian to measure our growth?

No matter when we were saved – whether we were 4 years old, 14 years old, 40 years old, or 80 years old – we ought to see growth and change in our lives.  God knows we won’t be perfect, but He does expect us to be growing.  We ought to know more about God today than we did the day we received Him as Lord and Savior; we ought to know better how to live the Christian life - how to look like Jesus - today than we did last week.  Last month.  Last year.

So how can we know?

1. To be like someone, you must know that someone.

1. You can’t know how to imitate Jesus if you don’t know anything about Him, and you won’t know anything about Him if you don’t read his autobiography, the Bible.

2. Upon salvation, we received the Holy Spirit – He dwells within us.  If we allow Him complete control of our lives, as He desires, we will be Spirit controlled.  If we are Spirit controlled, others will see the fruit of the Spirit manifested (made obvious) in our lives.  They will see:

                                                   i.      Love – doing what is in the best interest of the other person

                                                 ii.      Joy – sweet thoughts of Christ that eclipse the circumstances around us

                                                iii.      Peace – toward God AND men; we are restful and quiet, not argumentative, not hateful, not distraught, but thoughtful

                                               iv.      Long-suffering – that quality that enables a person to bear reproach, adversity, injury; it allows them to patiently wait for the improvement of those who have done them wrong.

                                     v.      Gentleness – in conduct; not sharp or bitter; mild, courteous, soft-spoken; that quality which encourages others to seek our company.

                                               vi.      Goodness – willing to help others in their need.

                                             vii.      Faith – believing the best; not suspicious, not looking for fault

                                            viii.      Meekness – not quick to anger; thoughtful; contemplative

                                               ix.      Temperance – sober, pure, chaste; not quarrelsome

2. Compare yourself not to others, but to Jesus.

1. Why would we compare ourselves to other imperfect Christians?  Our standard, our goal, is the perfect, sinless Christ – as the old saying goes, if you aim for nothing you will hit it every time!  But if you shoot for the stars, you’ll at least get off the ground!  Remember, God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but he does expect us to be growing.  We may not be able to attain sinlessness, but we all have room for improvement!

2. The World’s standards change with the latest trends and philosophies.  Do you remember when being pregnant before marriage was a shame that sent the young woman to some far-off relative’s home?  Do you remember when television shows showed married couples in separate twin beds, wearing pajamas that completely covered their bodies?  Do you remember when the greatest topic of conversation was not that the movie, Gone with the Wind, was 3 hours long, but was the one word that Rhett Butler uttered near the end of the film because it was so shocking?  No, we do not want to measure ourselves by the World’s standards, for they are a moving target.

3. Evaluate your daily life, not just your “Sunday” life.

1. Can we even see the fruit of the Spirit in our daily lives? 

2. Do we see more fruit or less fruit than we saw a month ago?  A year ago?

3. Look at our responses to every day life – how do we respond to the crazy drivers on our way to work?  How do we view doing the laundry, taking out the trash, doing homework, a boss’s unreasonable request, our children squabbling, our husband’s muddy footprints on the freshly mopped floor?  Do we treat these events as OPPORTUNITES to display the fruit of the Spirit, or are they annoyances and aggravations and testings and trials and opportunities to cry out, Why me, God??  Why me??

Your answer will reveal a lot about how much you look like Jesus.

It’s fall again.  Don’t wait until January 1^st to take stock; do it now – in fact, do it daily! – make it your goal, with God’s help, to please him by looking more and more like Jesus.