In his book The Christ Life For Your Life, F. B. Meyer tells of traveling by train. He saw a man in his compartment reading the famous devotional book, Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. Dr. Meyer said, “That’s a grand book.” “Yes, it is,” replied the passenger.
“But I have found something better,” said Meyer, who proceeded to use the illustration of painting a picture. He said, in effect, “What if I saw a beautiful masterpiece in the museum and I wanted a copy for myself? I could try to imitate it, to copy it onto a canvas using my own abilities of imitation. But how different the picture would look if the spirit of the great artist himself could somehow flow into my heart, into my mind, into my body, into my fingers and paint the picture through me.”
Christlikeness isn’t just a matter of imitating Christ. It is Christ Himself living His life and doing His work through us.
Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook, 2002 Edition (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001), 6-7.
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