Created To Be Like God

CREATED TO BE LIKE GOD

a prayer to open

Here I am, Lord. Remind me who I am.

I am loved. I am known. I belong to you.

With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.

The old self and the new self are concepts Paul returned to again and again in his letter to the Ephesians. He knew the pull our old habits, routines, and sins have on us and how tempted we are to return to our former ways. In times of stress, chaos, or pain, we fall back to what is familiar. What we see modeled around us, our emotions, and all the experiences that have shaped us over the course of our lives can drag us away from the life God gives. And so, when we find ourselves engaged in habits that reflect our old lives, the solution is to stop and take a path that reflects our new selves in Christ. To do this, we must open ourselves to the Holy Spirit to renew our thoughts and attitudes. This is the daily discipline of surrendering our minds and hearts to God and asking him to make our thoughts and attitudes reflect his. Over time, as we throw off the old and surrender ourselves to the work of the Spirit, we begin to reflect God to the world, just as we were created to do.

• Paul mentioned lying, anger, and stealing as examples of behaviors in which the old self engages. What attitudes or behaviors act as warning signs that you’ve slipped into your old self? What do you currently do when these attitudes or behaviors show themselves? What trusted family member or friend might help you identify and turn from these attitudes and behaviors?
• What spiritual practices, relationships, and activities help you open yourself to the Holy Spirit so your thoughts and attitudes can be renewed? How might you incorporate those practices, relationships, and activities more into your daily life?
• Take a moment to quiet yourself in God’s loving presence. Ask him to open your eyes and heart to the ways he wants you to live more fully into the truth that he has created you to reflect his attitudes and thoughts to the world. What did he bring to mind?

Father, thank you for the grace and strength you offer so I can turn from falsehood, darkness, and anger and live into the life you came to give in Jesus. I long to live fully and freely in the new, redeemed, restored self. Help me by your Spirit and in your mercy to put on the new self each day and surrender every thought, attitude, and action to your transformative, loving work. When I am tempted to fall back on the familiar, show me the way back to you. Open my eyes and humble my heart so I return to your ways. Remind me that I was created to be like you, as hard as that is to comprehend. Nothing can separate me from your love. Amen.