Sound of Heaven: A 6-Day Devotional by Danny Gokeyنموونە

Wannabe

Whether you were a cool kid in school or just one of those “wanna-be’s,” at some point, you probably desperately tried to fit in, figure out where you belonged, and made some poor decisions along the way. However, in a world constantly telling us who to be and how to live, our desire should always be to ‘wannabe’ more like Jesus and do things His way rather than our own.

In the Bible, a zealous Pharisee named Saul tried to be ‘cool’ by killing Christians for jeopardizing the Jewish faith. But then God got ahold of him, changed his name to Paul, and told him to take the good news of the gospel to both the Jews and Gentiles. After his conversion, Paul became equally zealous for the cause of Christ.

He could have allowed the shame of his past to disqualify him from his God-given destiny. Instead, it propelled him to live out his purpose. “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b-14) Paul faced unimaginable persecution, physical trials, and, ultimately, death. It would have been far more desirable for his life to end, but he saw it all as just a small price to pay for the call that had been placed on his life.

“For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Now, if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me, and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better— but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” (Philippians 1:21-24)

An absolute Jesus-freak, Paul selflessly gave his whole life so that others could become like Christ, too. “Imitate God in everything you do,” he challenged believers in Ephesians 5:1-2, “because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”

In the same way, our lives can also be “to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing,” as it says in 2 Corinthians 2:15. So how do we become more like Jesus and point others to Him? Paul tells us that “Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others. Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:4-5) 1 John 4:17 tells us that “as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.” Love is the evidence of the Spirit in our lives, along with “joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

The world will never stop telling us who we should be, but we don’t need to worry about what others think. Jesus is the only One whose example we should follow and strive to ‘wannabe’ more like. When we do things His way, with hands lifted in surrender, we can trust the Spirit to work in us to be true reflections of Him!