A.W. Tozer once wrote, “Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.” It seems we spend much of our lives doing this. We speak of our love for Jesus with our mouth, but our lives don’t look much like His. It’s as if we need to define who we mean when we say the name of Jesus.
Do we mean the beautiful, holy, and blameless Son of God, or do we mean the person we’ve created who happens to look suspiciously like ourselves and the model citizen of our society? God’s Word teaches Jesus is the same today as He has always been and will always be (Hebrews 13:8). If we intend to follow Christ, we must follow Him as He is, not who we are making Him to be.
How many times have we determined to change our lives, to forsake everything, and to follow Him? How long did our commitment last? Often, we make our grand declaration of commitment to Him in times of great emotion. The trouble is emotion never lasts. It is fleeting. Unless and until we decide in all soberness that Jesus is worth our life in its entirety, we will never know what it means to live. The life Jesus created us to live is so much more than we have yet experienced. Living in His embrace, walking in His footsteps, and seeing through His eyes is not only our destiny, but it is also the most amazing thing on earth.
If you have ever experienced a profound closeness with Jesus through times of prayer, study, or crisis, you know there is no feeling even close to such an experience. It is beyond an accurate description. It is warm, safe, and whole. We were created to glorify God and when we taste His presence, we can’t help but do anything but worship Him. Nothing else we will ever pursue or desire comes close to being in the arms of Jesus. There is nothing we will want to change about Him. We will simply be grateful He is who He is. I know this to be true and I’m guessing you do as well. So, why do we insist on trying to make God conform to our own and aspirations?
God created us in His own image. We do not get the honor, nor do we have the power, to in turn create Him in ours. He is perfect and above all. For us to think we can improve on the almighty God is arrogance at its worst. God has designed you to live in perfect harmony with Him. He has created you exactly as He intended. There are no mistakes in the Kingdom of God. Why would we dare to try and mold God into our image when we know His image is so far beyond us? He is perfect, beautiful, and kind. He wants only the best for you, and He loves you unconditionally. We cannot improve on who He is, so let’s stop trying! Jesus is perfect and awesome. Anything we would change would only detract from who He is. Let’s all stop making excuses as to why we can’t live for Him as He is. Instead, let us all fall down in worship and live our lives in total devotion to the almighty King.