Fr. Stephen, again in a wonderful post about what it means to live in the image of Christ, says this:

The moralist approach [to being like Christ] (which I was taught as a child) is fraught with constant attention to 'what would Jesus do?' in a moral calculation that can never end in anything but failure or delusion.

When St. Paul speaks of conformity to the image of Christ it is always clear that this is not something we accomplish, but something that is accomplished within us by God. In particular he says: 'I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me' (Gal. 2:20).

Here is our own kenosis or emptying. 'Not-I-but-Christ.' And thus we become transparent and finally transparent such that we are His image. This is not an effort of moralism, but a self-offering to God.

To which I can only resoundingly say, "Amen!" Our being conformed to the character of Christ is not an action or a set of actions, but is a way of being. It is to fully empty ourselves of everything that we are and to fill ourselves completely with Him. We do not merely seek to do as Christ would do, but we do as Christ would do because we have surrendered ourselves to Him and allowed Him to consume all of our being. From a different perspective, but equally valid, Jeff posts this thought:

Living for Christ is the only way you will ever be liberated from your bondage to the overwhelming tendency to shrink the size of your life to the size of your life. The only way to spin free of the narrow confines of your little cubicle kingdom is to live in the big sky country of Christ-centered living. You will never win the battle with yourself simply by saying ‘no’ to yourself. The battle only begins to be won when you say ‘yes’ to the call of your King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Indeed, let our prayer be, "Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me." Because the truth of that matter is, "From him and through him and to him are all things" (Rom. 11:36). If this be the case, our lives can not be anything less than a reflection of this truth. To him be the glory.

Labels: faith, imago Dei, Jesus Christ, theology